Navigating the Business Law Curriculum: Business Tax

The Richmond Law & Business Forum is highlighting course offerings related to business law. In this post, we asked Professor Hayes Holderness for his thoughts on what students interested in business law need to know about tax. 

Q: Why do business lawyers need to understand tax?

A: There’s always a tax angle, no matter how complex a business transaction is. From the very beginning when choosing what type of business entity to be to complex mergers and acquisitions, there’s a tax consideration. You don’t need to know how to answer the tax questions, but you should know when you need to ask a tax expert.

Q: Which tax courses should students interested in business law take?  Is there a particular order they should follow?

A: Federal Income Taxation is the foundational class and should leave you with the ability to recognize tax issues. After that, Corporate Tax is probably the next best stop, particularly if you’re planning on going into transactional work. Given its complexity, Taxation of Partnerships and LLCs would ideally be your last tax class. State and Local Taxation and the Tax Policy Seminar are more tangential for the business lawyer, but very interesting if you get the tax craving! A key point is that Federal Income Tax is a prerequisite for both Corporate Tax and Taxation of Partnerships and LLCs, so if you want to take those upper-level business tax courses (and you should take both if you plan to do transactional business work), you need to take Federal Income Tax in your 2L year.

Q: Any advice for students who are nervous about tax?

A: It’s not all about math, and it’s definitely not dry! You’ll likely be surprised at how much you enjoy your intro tax class. And if not, well, at least you know it’s not for you.