Diamond Graduate School of Law

LL.M. Program

Syllabus for Thesis 1 - Online Tax Research & Writing

Every Semester  – 16 weeks and an exam week

  

I.          COURSE DESCRIPTION  

Thesis 1: Online Tax Research and Writing (2cr. required starting trimester): This course is required for all new starting students.  The course will walk you through various research techniques, such as finding and qualifying the accuracy of primary source laws (see databases below) for any jurisdiction; case law and qualifying its precedent for many jurisdictions; treatises about the law (see databases below) of many jurisdictions and tax planning for jurisdictions; tax journals, like Tax Notes Today, and international tax strategy journals, like Tax Management International; tax law reviews; and other sources.  Research assignments are performed on both the Internet WWW as well as, and most importantly, value added databases, such as Lexis-Nexis US and foreign materials; Tax Treaties; BNA US and BNA International; especially the country by country tax materials; CCH International databases jurisdiction by jurisdiction, and its global treatises; Butterworths UK and international materials, especially Commonwealth/Caribbean case law; QuickLaw, especially Canadian and Commonwealth/Caribbean case law; Checkpoint-RIA-WGL-Gee, especially the treatises that explain planning techniques by topics, such as estate planning, for jurisdictions; Foreign Law Publishers; World Compliance Anti-Money Laundering database; IBLS e-commerce databases; Westlaw US and foreign materials; Tax Analysts, especially its superior tax treaty database, foreign law and global tax update magazines; LLM and PhD thesis and dissertation databases; historical tax research using databases such as Hein and CCH; amongst other databases.  Also, the student will be shown how to use electronic book libraries and research the titles available.  Finally, this course requires, and thus will teach, correct legal memoranda writing, citation, and organization techniques, pursuant to those required by large legal and audit/accounting firms, for work product.  The student will have the opportunity (and requirement) to present memoranda and receive feedback on legal research, IRAC, and ENGLISH USAGE (through an outsource firm SMARTTHINKING).  This course is taught by Professor Gordon Russell, law librarian.

            This course is required for all new starting students BUT FOR exceptional circumstances of experienced practitioners.  The course will walk you through various research techniques, such as using

  • finding and qualifying the accuracy of primary source laws (see databases below) for any jurisdiction

  • case law and qualifying its precedent for many jurisdictions

  • treatises about the law (see databases below) of many jurisdictions and tax planning for jurisdictions

  • tax journals, like Tax Notes Today, and international tax strategy journals, like Tax Management International

  • tax law reviews

  • other sources

on both the Internet WWW as well as, and most importantly, value added databases, such as

  • Lexis-Nexis US and foreign materials; Tax Treaties

  • BNA US and foreign materials; especially the country by country tax materials

  • BNA International

  • CCH International databases jurisdiction by jurisdiction, and its global treatises

  • CCH USA databases

  • Butterworths UK and international materials, especially Commonwealth/Caribbean case law

  • QuickLaw, especially Canadian and Commonwealth/Caribbean case law

  • Checkpoint-RIA-WGL-Gee, especially the treatises that explain planning techniques by topics, such as estate planning, for jurisdictions

  • Westlaw US and foreign materials

  • Tax Analysts, especially its superior tax treaty database, foreign law and global tax update magazines

  • Foreign Law Publishers - all foreign statues in English

  • World Compliance database

  • LLM and PhD thesis and dissertation databases

  • historical tax research using databases such as Hein and CCH

  • Matthew Bender databases

  • Lois Law e-libraries

  • amongst other databases that we subscribe to for you (see the external links in the classroom for details).

Also, the student should use the electronic book libraries and research the titles available.  Finally, the student is encouraged to use online legal research resources or university library or another library through a University library exchange program.

Finally, this course requires, and thus will teach, correct legal memoranda writing, citation, and organization techniques, pursuant to those required by large legal and audit/accounting firms, for work product.  The student will have the opportunity (and requirement) to present memoranda and receive feedback on legal research, IRAC, and ENGLISH USAGE (through an outsource firm SMARTTHINKING).

 II.         PURPOSE

            An LLM executive level course.  This course will be taught at the executive level and will employ case studies as well as employ global analysis.

  • 2 credits
  • required first semester
  • To be waived, must have experience with legal writing and global research techniques.  (You will have to take another 2 credit or 3 credit course to capture the required 28 credits to graduate).

III.        COURSE PROCEDURE

            This course will be taught by Professor Gordon Butler and other faculty members and will involve fourteen weekly modules that are delivered through on-line instruction pursuant to current program specifications.  Each module will contain text material, study guide instruction, and weekly interactive participation. 

             Each module, selected students may be called upon to deliver answers in the Internet based classroom to questions posed by the instructor.  Questions may be posed in case study form or in issue form.  Answers may be short (one page) form or long form (five page analysis).

             During the semester, module based audio and videotape lecture construction will be explored as well as the provision to students through streaming technology.

              During the sixteen-week semester, the students will have two technology skills and control weeks.  The first week of the course, the student will spend the time acquiring and testing the necessary accessing components of the course, including: blackboard skills, database access, proxy server access, material download, and other technical issues.  Also, students will introduce themselves and identify with each other (camaraderie and network building).  During the third week, students will be given another breather week to check the quality of their acquired technology technical skills and offsite database access in order to identify any problem areas that require immediate correcting.

             During the semester, each student will receive at least two detailed feedback sessions from the Instructor through the detailed marking of his/her/group study guide assignments and/or class participation.  Separately, the Instructor is available for office hour private counseling through email, telephone, and perhaps by residential office appointment.

            Other assignments may receive feedback and will receive a grade, recorded in the online grade book that students may assess their performance.

 IV.        ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

This online course requires attendance which is measured by (1) the modular-weekly interactive participation opportunities in the classroom, (2) mandatory weekly participation through being called upon to address the class for certain modules as well as (3) modular study guide assignments.  Missing mandatory weekly participation assignments is the equivalent of being not prepared in class and will result in a zero for that assignment.   Not turning in study guide assignments will result in a zero for that assignment.

  V.         EVALUATION OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

            Grades will be determined through a combination of factors, as follows:

final exam – 50%;

weekly study guide assignments – 25%

weekly participation – 25%

VI.        REQUIRED TEXTS

Electronic texts edited and authored by the Instructor, supplemented by reference materials.  Reference materials will include source materials and secondary materials.

VII.       REFERENCE MATERIAL

Research is conducted using the Internet WWW as well as, and most importantly, value added databases, such as

  • Lexis-Nexis US and foreign materials; Tax Treaties

  • BNA US and foreign materials; especially the country by country tax materials

  • BNA International

  • CCH International databases jurisdiction by jurisdiction, and its global treatises

  • CCH USA databases

  • Butterworths UK and international materials, especially Commonwealth/Caribbean case law

  • QuickLaw, especially Canadian and Commonwealth/Caribbean case law

  • Checkpoint-RIA-WGL-Gee, especially the treatises that explain planning techniques by topics, such as estate planning, for jurisdictions

  • Westlaw US and foreign materials

  • Tax Analysts, especially its superior tax treaty database, foreign law and global tax update magazines

  • Foreign Law Publishers - all foreign statues in English

  • World Compliance database

  • LLM and PhD thesis and dissertation databases

  • historical tax research using databases such as Hein and CCH

  • Matthew Bender databases

  • Lois Law e-libraries

  • amongst other databases that we subscribe to for you (see the external links in the classroom for details).

Also, the student should use the electronic book libraries and research the titles available.  Finally, the student is encouraged to use online legal research resources or university library or another library through a University library exchange program.

VIII.      WEEKLY SYLLABUS

contact Professor Gordon Russell (grussell@stu.edu), the Head law librarian.

Each week, one database and research technique will be explored.  Assignments are weekly.