Tax Law Faculty

William D. Andrews (Eli Goldstone Professor of Law Emeritus) joined the faculty in 1961, while practicing in Boston. He received a B.A. in English from Amherst in 1952 and an LL.B. from Harvard in 1955. His recent research has focused on corporate and partnership taxation.

Anne L. Alstott (Marley O. Hudson Professor of Law) joined the faculty in 2008.  After practicing in New York, she served in the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Legislative Counsel from 1990-1992.  She taught at Columbia University School of Law from 1992-1997 and at the Yale Law School from 1997-2008.  She received an A.B. in Economics from Georgetown in 1984 and a J.D. from Yale in 1987.  Her recent research has focused on the taxation of inheritance and of families, particularly those with low incomes.  2009-2010 tax courses:  Low-Income Workers (Winter), Taxation (Spring), and Seminars in Law and Government (Spring).

Brian Arnold (Visiting Professor of Law, Winter 2010) is Professor Emeritus at the University of Western Ontario and currently a consultant to Goodmans LLP, a Toronto law firm, and to several governments concerning tax policy and administration. He received a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1966 and a J.D. from Harvard in 1969. His recent research has focused on international and comparative taxation. 2009-2010 tax course: Comparative International Tax Policy (Winter).

Mihir A. Desai is the Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance and the Chair of Doctoral Programs at Harvard Business School. He received his Ph.D. in political economy from Harvard University; his MBA as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School; and a bachelors degree in history and economics from Brown University. In 1994, he was a Fulbright Scholar to India. Professor Desai's areas of expertise include tax policy, international finance and corporate finance. His work has emphasized the appropriate design of tax policy in a globalized setting, the links between corporate governance and taxation, and the internal capital markets of multinational firms. He is also the author of International Finance: A Casebook He is a Research Associate in the National Bureau of Economic Research's Public Economics and Corporate Finance Programs, and is the co-director of the NBER's India program.  2009-2010 tax courses:  Seminar in Current Issues in Tax Law, Policy and Practice (with Halperin) (Fall), America's Fiscal Future Reading Group (Fall).

Marion R. Fremont-Smith (Adjunct Lecturer Kennedy School of Government) is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University where she is directing a study or regulation of the non profit sector, surveying state and federal rules governing the behavior of charitable fiduciaries and the manner in which these rules are administered. She retired as a partner of Choate, Hall and Stewart in 1998 and became a Counsel to the firm. She has a B.A. from Wellesley College in 1948 and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1951. 2009-2010 tax course: Law of Non-Profit Organizations (with Spitzer) (Spring).

Daniel I. Halperin (Stanley S. Surrey Professor of Law) joined the faculty in 1996 after practicing in New York, service in the Treasury Department (including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy) and teaching at Pennsylvania and Georgetown. He received a B.B.A. from the City College of New York in 1957 and a J.D. from Harvard in 1961. His recent research has focused on nonprofits and retirement income. 2009-2010 tax courses: Taxation (Fall), Seminar in Current Issues in Tax Law, Policy and Practice (with Desai) (Fall).

Louis Kaplow (Professor of Law) joined the faculty in 1982 after clerking on the second circuit. He received a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Northwestern in 1977, as well as a J.D. in 1981 and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1987, both from Harvard. His recent research has focused on taxation and redistribution, as well as law and economics. 2009-2010 tax courses: Taxation (Fall).

Diane M. Ring (Visiting Professor of Law)is a Professor of Law at Boston College Law School, where she researches and writes primarily in the field of international taxation, corporate taxation, and the taxation of financial instruments. Prior to joining the Boston College Law School, Ms. Ring was an associate professor of law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, and an assistant professor at Harvard Law School.. She received an A.B. in 1986 and a J.D. in 1990 from Harvard University. Her recent work addresses issues including cross border tax arbitrage, advance pricing agreements, and international tax relations. Ms. Ring was the U.S. National Reporter for the 2004 IFA Conference on Double Nontaxation and is the co-author of three case books in taxation Before entering academia, Ms. Ring practiced at the firm of Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C., specializing in the area of international tax and the taxation of financial instruments.  2009-2010 tax course: Taxation of International Transactions (Spring).

Adelbert L. (Lorry) Spitzer (Lecturer on Law) Spitzer is a tax partner with Ropes & Gray LLPin Boston, MA and formerly worked in the U.S. Treasury's Office of Tax Policy dealing principally with nonprofit organization issues. He has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations, with particular emphasis on universities, health care organizations and private foundations. He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1974 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1981. 2009-2010 tax courses: Law of Non-Profit Organizations (with Fremont-Smith) (Spring).

Alvin C. Warren, Jr. (Ropes & Gray Professor of Law) joined the faculty in 1979, after teaching at Connecticut, Duke, and Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. in English from Yale in 1966 and a J.D. from Chicago in 1969. His recent research has focused on financial innovation and European corporate tax policy. 2009-2010 tax courses: Taxation (Spring), Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders (Spring).

Bernard Wolfman (Fessenden Professor of Law Emeritus) joined the faculty in 1976 after practicing in Philadelphia and teaching at Pennsylvania, where he was also Dean. He received a B.A. in Political Science in 1946 and a J.D. in 1948, both from the University of Pennsylvania. His recent research has focused on the roles of the legal and accounting professions in tax practice.

Jonathan M. Zorn, a partner with Ropes & Gray, is currently the head of the firm’s Tax and Benefits Department
and a leader in the firm’s ERISA practice. He taught for many years in the Boston University Tax Program. Mr. Zorn received a B.A. from Indiana University in 1972, a PhD from Harvard University in 1979 and a J.D. from Yale University in 1982.  2009-2010 tax course: Executive Compensation, ERISA and Related Topics (Fall).