Economic Development Clinic Opens its Doors When Alfred Mathewson prepared an outline for a new eco-
nomic development clinical program at the UNM School of Law, he envisioned students offering the same services typically performed for big clients at big firms. Instead, the clients would be nonprofits, small businesses and entrepreneurs. Students would gain experience in areas such as drafting and reviewing contracts, drafting articles of incorpo- ration and operating agreements, tax advice and disputes, predatory lending advice and bankruptcies. The economic development clinic opened last fall and Mathewson
believes it is one of the few nationwide to offer students practice in both transactions and litigation. But first, students experienced the challenges of building a practice.
Throughout the fall semester, they made presentations to community groups around Albuquerque on a variety of subjects, including pay- day loans, gross receipts tax, earned income tax credit and the new bankruptcy law. “We have been working to get the word out as to how we can serve the public,” says Paul Nathanson, who co-taught the clinic. Anita Kelley and Bryan Williams, both 3Ls, found it rewarding to
go out into the community and educate people on the services they could provide. “It helped me learn to reach out and find clients,” says Williams.
“I like the idea of getting people organized up front so they don’t get into trouble later.” On one case, Williams collaborated with a student at the Robert
O. Anderson Schools of Management at UNM. The business student wrote a business plan and Williams worked on the legal issues of set- ting up a business. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, associate dean of clinical programs at the law school, is working with the Anderson faculty to formalize such collaborative efforts. Woven into the new clinic is a Low-Income Taxpayer Assistance
program, which recently received funding by the Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Advocate, an independent arm of the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve tax problems. Evan Hobbs, an Albuquerque lawyer who practices in the areas of tax, business and estate planning, is lead- ing this initiative, and in that role, co-taught the clinical course with Nathanson. He is teaching it again this semester with Sedillo Lopez. “Students learn procedures regarding disputes with the IRS, such
as audits, appeals, negotiating installment agreements, defending tax- payer rights in IRS collections and general conflicts over amounts paid and owed,” he says. “We want to be known as a resource for the New Mexico community.” The taxpayer assistance program does not provide tax preparation assistance.
Evan Hobbs offers assistance to UNM law student Bruce Puma Bruce Puma, a 3L, was looking for experience resolving disputes
between taxpayers and the IRS. Already a licensed CPA, he hopes to practice tax law after graduation. He did handle one tax dispute, along with drafting IRS documents for startup nonprofits. “Most beneficial was letting people know that issues with the IRS
can be resolved and that perhaps the clinic can help them,” he says. Across the country, the IRS has provided grants to law-school clinics
for taxpayer assistance programs, and through this effort it hopes to gain feedback on how well the federal tax policy works and problem areas with low-income taxpayers. Other initiatives of the UNM law school’s taxpayer assistance
program include presenting informational workshops in Spanish to im- migrants, and providing CLE training to members of the clinic’s Access to Justice Practitioner Network, in exchange for tax referrals. “This clinic is part of our broader Economic Development
Program,” says Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia. “Practicing business law as a student provides an introduction to skills they will need for running their own firms and representing business clients, from small startups to major corporations.” As the economic development clinic evolves, Mathewson hopes it
will have an effect in the state’s underserved communities. “Currently, economic development is hampered in New Mexico’s
small communities by a lack of lawyers with the knowledge to provide the services we are focusing on,” he says. “Hopefully, the skills we are teaching in the clinic can be used in these communities to help build the economy from the ground up.”
MALSA Receives National Award
The Mexican American Law Student Association at the UNM School of Law was named Law Student Organization of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA). The award recognized MALSA’s efforts to bring awareness to issues facing the
Accepting the award at the HNBA’s annual convention were, MALSA President Denise Chanez and classmate Dahlia Olsher, who are surrounding former HNBA President Alan Varela (`87). On the left is Bettina Guevara, former national president of the HNBA’s Law Student Division.
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Hispanic community, and its dedication to furthering the education of all Hispanic students. Among the activities recognized were: its mentorship program with ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education), in which MALSA members mentor minority high school students; MALSA’s work in helping to organize the first annual Minority Mentorship Mixer for high school and college students; MALSA’s efforts to recruit minority law students, including free practice LSAT tests and admissions informa- tion sessions at schools across New Mexico and its activism in promoting the benefits of diversity and race-conscious admissions at the UNM School of Law.
WINTER 2006
LAW SCHOOL NEWS
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