Schaefer Speaks to Students at Richmond School of Law

On March 7, 2019, partner Matthew Schaefer facilitated a mock conciliation conference and answered questions from 3L and 2L students in Professor Hayes Holderness’ State and Local Tax Law course at Richmond School of Law.  Schaefer first judged presentations made by the students in an advocacy exercise, before engaging with them in a discussion of the finer points of analyzing and arguing a state tax appeal, the practice of SALT law more generally, and appearing before the United States Supreme Court.  The students asked insightful questions about preparing arguments for the Court in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., in which Schaefer served as co-counsel to the petitioners.  In the advocacy exercise, Schaefer found that the taxpayers prevailed on both points, reflecting the limited scope of the controlling statutes for the exercise and perhaps, as Schaefer acknowledged, his usual tendency to view SALT issues from the taxpayers’ perspective.