Some questions about Tax Law!

[nowaygirl]

Hi! I'm only a law school applicant right now but I was looking into tax law and got curious about the field-- would really appreciate it if any tax lawyers here had some insight for my questions! 

1. Is tax law mostly litigation? I don't want to be a litigator so I was wondering if tax law would even be an option for me in the future.

2. I've heard tax law tends to have more work/life balance than some other corporate areas. Is this true? 

3. Has anyone ever done the CPA in depth tax course? My uncle completed it recently as an accountant and he was telling me about the lawyers he met in the program (which is what made me interested in learning more about the field). If so, how did you like it!

Thanks in advance!

[Lawyer579830]

Can’t speak to number 3 but I would say most tax lawyers in private practice are tax planners (i.e., solicitors). Tax litigation seems to be a more niche (but growing) area of tax law. 
 

From speaking to some of my colleagues in tax planning, their schedule tends to be more predictable and better than most corporate lawyers. The exception is when you’re on a M&A deal.

[INFJatlaw]

Don’t worry about CPA in-depth right now. You’ll do that after you become a lawyer and manage to break into tax law. Many firms require their junior tax lawyers to complete this program and they pay for it. It’s very useful , and I heard that it is a little like Master of Tax but relatively easier.

[Mal]

(1) No, tax planning is very common. 

(2) Work-life balance is highly firm dependent, much more so than practice area. 

(3) It's fine, I have done 2/3 of it. A lot of it is information that I don't really need to know and more targetted at accountants though. Maybe more useful if I were practicing as a solicitor.