Tax Law Institute 1717 N Street NW Washington DC (202} 800-9230

IRS APPROVED PROVIDER OF CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR ENROLLED AGENTS & CPAs

Former Guest Speakers

Distinguished Tax Attorney & Philanthropist

Distinguished Member, U.S. Tax Court Judiciary

Frank Agostino J.D. LL.M.

Guest Speaker

Admitted to practice United States Tax Court | District Court of New Jersey | Southern District of New York | Second Circuit Court of Appeals | Third Circuit Court of Appeals

The invited guest speaker, Frank Agostino, is the founder and president of Agostino & Associates, P.C. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Agostino was an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service’s District Counsel in Springfield, Illinois and Newark, New Jersey. He also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted primarily criminal tax cases. An adjunct professor, Mr. Agostino taught tax controversy at Seton Hall University W. Paul Stillman School of Business and Rutgers School of Law. He also served as the co-director of the Rutgers Federal Tax Law Clinic. Mr. Agostino is a frequent speaker and author on tax controversy and litigation matters. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure. Mr. Agostino is actively involved with the American Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers’ Association. Mr. Agostino is also the President of Taxpayers Assistance Corp., which provides tax and legal advice to low income taxpayers in the NY/NJ area. He received his legal education at New York Law School (J.D.) and New York University School of Law (LL.M.).

Distinguished Member, U.S. Tax Court Judiciary

Judge John F. Dean J.D. LL.M.

Former United States Tax Court Special Trial Judge | Distinguished Judicial Speaker at the Tax Law Institute | Member of the Bar United States Tax Court | Admitted to Practice Supreme Court of the United States | Former Tax Litigator in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel -Domestic & International

Judge John F. Dean sat on the bench for 20 years as Special Trial Judge (STJ) in the U.S. Tax Court. He joined the Tax Law Institute upon his retirement from the Court in 2014. He served as Distinguished Judicial Speaker for CE Programs for federally-authorized tax practitioners . He led remote discussions in trial practice, litigation, and legal ethics at the Tax Law Institute. He also led live, pre-bar-exam conferences, organized by TLI, at Georgetown University. Judge Dean was admitted to practice in numerous jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of the United States, and various district courts. He was in legal practiced since 1974 and served the IRS as both domestic and international litigator. Judge Dean received his graduate legal education at Georgetown Law Center, where he earned the LL.M. in Taxation. He earned his J.D. at Catholic University.

Distinguished Author & Tax Litigator

Distinguished Member, U.S. Tax Court Judiciary

Distinguished Author & Tax Litigator

IN MEMORIAM | Joni Larson J.D. LL.M.

Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Tax Law Institute at Washington DC

Former United States Tax Court Clerk to Judge Irene Scott | Distinguished Author |Member of the Bar United States Tax Court | Admitted to Practice in State of Indiana

The late Joni Larson previously led the course in Tax Evidence based upon evidentiary principles and applications cited in her then-second edition of A Practitioner's Guide to Tax Evidence: A Primer on the Federal Rules of Evidence As Applied by the Tax Court. She published a third edition. Professor Larson also was an IRC Scholar as well a master of U.S. Tax Court rules of practice and procedure, skills she perfected while serving as a judicial law clerk for former Tax Court Judge Irene Scott. She had an intimate knowledge of case law, published opinion and of winning litigation strategies. Professor Larson was an active participant in the partnership and corporate tax lectures along with Judge Dean and Lecturer Emeritus, James Chapman, who serves as Director of Federal Tax Research at the Tax Law Institute. Professor Larson left the Tax Law Institute after the administration of the 2021 Tax bar, and after two years of lectureship at TLI. She was serving as tax litigator in the U.S. Treasury Department at the time of her death. Joni Larson was considered one of the most endeared instructors ever to lecture at the Tax Law Institute. The bar candidates rated her as the best in decorum, student relations and course presentation. She will be dearly missed.

Distinguished Lecturer & Author

Distinguished Professor & Author

Distinguished Author & Tax Litigator

Robert E. McKenzie E.A. J.D. LL.M.

Guest Speaker

Admitted to practice in State of Illinois | United States Court of Claims | United States Tax Court

Robert E. McKenzie concentrated his practice in representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service and state agencies. He is presently fully retired. He has lectured extensively on the subject of taxation and has presented courses before thousands of CPA's, attorneys and enrolled agents nationwide. Attorney McKenzie is recognized as an authority and media source on IRS and tax-related issues, and he continues to be featured in national and international news stories, including appearances on Dateline NBC and ABC's World News Tonight. This includes his analysis, which appeared in various publications, regarding the IRS' efforts to uncover the identities of U.S. citizens with accounts in banks offshore. Prior to entering private practice, Attorney McKenzie was employed by the Internal Revenue Service, Collection Division, in Chicago, Illinois.

Mentor

Distinguished Professor & Author

Lorry Sorgman E.A. MST USTCP

Guest Speaker

Admitted to practice United States Tax Court

Lorraine (Lorry) Sorgman, better known as just `Lorry’ has been an Enrolled Agent since 1987. Ms Sorgman earned both her B.S. in business administration and her master of science in taxation from Suffolk University. She is a Fellow and former President of NTPI’s Graduate Fellows’ Association. Over the years, she has presented workshops on various topics, such as Real Estate for Real Estate Professionals, Burden of Proof, and Privilege for Federally Authorized Tax Practitioners (Beast or Burden), Practitioner Penalties, and Collection Alternatives with the IRS, Family Daycare Providers, Record-keeping and Taxation, Tax Practice Management in the Electronic Age, Taxpayer Representation, Offer In Compromise, and has successfully defended a case in the United States Tax Court on whether the cost for a MBA is a valid deductible employee business expense. Ms. Sorgman was the 2002 recipient of the Massachusetts Enrolled Agent of the Year, and the 2009 recipient as Mentor of The Year, awarded by the National Association of Enrolled Agents.

Distinguished Professor & Author

John A. 'Jack' Townsend J.D. LL.M.

Guest Speaker

Admitted to practice in Texas and Virginia | Professor of Law at University of Virginia School of Law

In his own words, Professor Townsends writes the following: "My original law practice was with the Department of Justice Tax Division, where I served as an attorney in the Appellate Section and then as an attorney in a trial section. In the Leurts of Appeals except the First Circuit and the D.C. Circuit, and worked on some briefs in opposition to taxpayer petitions for certioriari. In the trial section, I handled refund suits principally in the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) and South Carolina, with some other venues in North Carolina, other districts in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Since entering private practice in 1977, I have practiced as both a tax planning attorney (significantly in the partnership area) and a tax controversy attorney. From around 1990 (including predecessor firm with an of counsel relationship), to May 2018, I practiced with Townsend & Jones, LLP. My partner was Larry Jones, a great lawyer and friend. Although we continue to collaborate (conspire?) on matters of mutual interest, we decided to dissolve the partnership in view of our changed circumstances.

Specialties: Federal Tax Controversy, including IRS administrative matters (audits & appeals) and litigation in all federal courts at trial and appellate levels."

Teaching Faculty

Tax Litigation Counsel & Pro Bono Supervisor

Louis B. 'LB' Carpenter III CPA CFP USTCP

Assistant Professor of Federal Tax Practice

United States Tax Court Practitioner | Tax Litigation Counsel | Registered Coordinator, U.S. Tax Court Clinical, Student Practice and Calendar Call Program | Pro Bono Supervisor at the Tax Litigation Clinic at the Tax Law Institute | Director, Hawai'i Federal Tax Clinic on O'ahu

Louis B. 'LB' Carpenter has been involved with federal tax practice as a CPA (Florida) for almost 40 years. Founder and principal of Carpenter & Lopez CPAs, he is a Certified Financial Planner and United States Tax Court Practitioner (Tax Litigation Counsel). He provides federal tax litigation support to attorneys and is often called upon to express his knowledge of the IRC and published opinions. Consequently, numerous attorneys rely upon him to serve as expert witness. Mr. Carpenter is a contributing speaker to the Bar Prep. He became a guest lecture after graduating at the top of his class and named judicial merit scholar at the Tax Law Institute in 2017. He was appointed Tax Litigation Counsel at the Tax Law Institute in 2020 and was elevated to Assistant Professor of Federal Tax Practice in 2024. He confers with judicial counsel, legal academicians, and IRC scholars before pleading and joinder of issue. He specializes in partnership and corporate tax and mergers and acquisitions. He successfully settled a two-million-dollar Federal civil tax controversy in U.S. Tax Court for $450. He was trained in U.S. Tax Court trial practice and litigation at the Tax Law Institute. He was degreed with the B.Sc. in accounting after graduating from the University of Miami.

Federal Tax Research Director

James H. Chapman E.A. M.A. MPA

Associate Professor of Federal Tax Practice

Certified Pretrial Tax Litigation Specialist | National Tax Practice Institute Fellow | Chair of the Board of Directors of Hawaii Federal Tax Clinic

IRS enrolled agent, James H. Chapman, is a specialist in tax accountancy, specifically in auditing and fraud detection. A former government analyst, Mr. Chapman has been an IRS Enrolled Agent and NTPI Fellow for almost 17 years. He joined the Tax Law Institute in 2008 as a tax bar applicant and returned as guest lecturer, after which he became a volunteer member of the Teaching Faculty speaking to federal tax accounting matters. He lectured in the non-attorney admissions and tax bar review program for 10 years. During his tenure he established the program certification in pretrial tax litigation aka the Chapman Certification. Mr. Chapman also served as a TLI representative to the 2014 Judicial Conference held by the U.S. Tax Court and hosted by Duke University Law School. Aside from the IRS approval to practice, he holds the M.P.A. and M.A. degrees from Webster College. He is designated as Chief Tax Accountant for TLI. He also coordinates and moderates the independent Gleim program in foundational tax, gratis for all tax bar applicants.

Resident Scholar & Senior Lecturer in IRC

Serina Moy E.A.

Resident Scholar | Senior Lecturer in IRC Section Analysis & Federal Tax Practice

Preceptor | Approved U.S. Tax Court Clinical, Student Practice and Calendar Call Program

IRS enrolled agent, Serina Moy, joined us in 2020 as a 40-year veteran of Federal tax practice. She is an econometrics scholar, trained in China and the U.S. She speaks, reads and writes in four (4) Chinese dialects and is in high demand by banks and other financial institutions. Founder and Principal of Moy Cheung & Company, CPAs and EAs, a tax resolution and controversy, and international tax and audit representation firm situated in northwest Washington DC and in Rockville MD. She also operates independently as Serina & Associates of northwest Washington DC. She specializes in tax accountancy, individual tax preparation, tax preparation for businesses, tax planning, estate and trust tax services and provides tax relief. Serina was recently awarded a lectureship at the Tax Law Institute and was also nominated to serve as a member of the board of directors of the Hawai'i Federal Tax Clinic on O'ahu. She is expected to be confirmed and appointed as an alternate director to the board at the next quarterly meeting of the BOD.

Litigation & Case Law Specialist

Daniel Ng J.D. LL.M

Senior Advisor | Litigation & Trial Practice

Former Hedge Fund Manager (Ret.)

Daniel Ng joined the Tax Law Institute in 2002. He left to manage his own hedge fund and returned in 2023 after retiring from the financial industry. He is a specialist in trial advocacy and legal research. He began advising the Tax Law Institute Trial Practice Program and joined in audio lectures, contributing valuable insight in litigation techniques and case research. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a J.D. from the British-American School of Law, in partnership with the University of Cambridge (Program in English Common Law). He also holds an LL.M. from Golden Gate University School of Law, with a certification in Trial Advocacy.

Educational Coordinator at the Tax Litigation Clinic

Michael Jerome 'Mike' Stuart J.D. MPA

Professor Emeritus | The John F. Dean Professor of Tax Litigation and U.S. Tax Court Trial Practice

Former Chair of Teaching Faculty of Joint Program in Taxation & Litigation at the University of Alabama School of Law Graduate Tax Program and Tax Law Institute | President of Hawaii Federal Tax Clinic

Michael Jerome Stuart is a former tax policy advisor to the White House; past visiting scholar appointee for public policy (taxation) at Yale Law School; and former special consultant (Islamic banking, auditing & finance) to Harvard University. He spent 20 years on Wall Street as a financier and developer of affordable housing. He is editor of, and principal contributing author to, the Guide to Admission and Practice in U.S. Tax Court and Educational Coordinator at the Tax Litigation Clinic. From 2014 to 2018, he chaired Teaching Faculty and coordinated the Joint Program in Taxation and Litigation at the Tax Law Institute and University of Alabama School of Law Graduate Tax Pro gram (defunct). His public service endeavor with the Consumer Bankruptcy Unit of the Legal Aid Society included negotiated workouts with the IRS for indigent clients. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Jurisprudence, cum laude, and Doctor of Law (J.D.), cum laude, at the British-American Law School in partnership with the University of Cambridge, Program in English Common Law (defunct) - world's first virtual Anglo-American law program. He was appointed tenured professor of law (Islamic banking law & finance) and academic dean at the law school. He was invited as visiting lecturer (Islamic banking) to the Southern New England School of Law, re-chartered University of Massachusetts School of Law Dartmouth. He was a founding staff member of the Harvard Islamic Banking and Financial Information Program at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University aka Harvard Finance Project (HFP) at Harvard Law School. As a senior researcher, database manager and writer, he helped produce the publication of the world's first academic software database covering the Islamic finance industry, the IFP DataBank. Previously, he served as interim aide to the North American Secretary at the Trilateral Commission and trained in interrnatioinal business relations and financial management at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He also trained in Global Derivatives at Morgan Stanley in New York. He is certified in political economy and elementary Mandarin Chinese (Harvard) and earned a master's degree in public administration (international relations) from Harvard (Kennedy School). He graduated Fordham with a B.A. in Sociology, magna cum laude, where he was named U.S. Justice Department LEEP Scholar and inducted into the national honor society. He is an alumnus of the Yale School of Architecture Environmental Design Program and a past executive director of The Wildlife Trust, charged to protect the habitat of the mountain gorilla in Uganda and the rainforest in Brazil. He manages TLI's charitable giving program and is co-founder of the Hawaii Federal Tax Clinic, with an office on O'ahu.

2024-2025 Faculty Interns | USTCP & Pro Bono Student RepS

Jeffrey Thompson E.A. MBA MA USTCP

Kathryn Franklin M.Sc. Accounting M.Sc. Auditing

IRS enrolled agent and U.S. Tax Court apprentice, Jeffery Thompson, passed the 2023 U.S. Tax Court bar examination and was recently vetted by the FBI and admitted to practice in and before the Court. He prepares taxes returns for and represents at audits members of the Hollywood entertainment industr y. At TLI, he assists the Educational Director at the Tax Litigation Clinic and manages the caseload generated by the Pro Bono Practice linked with the free tax clinic we support and the U.S. Tax Court Clinical, Student Practice and Calendar Call Program. He is a pro bono USTCP rep in the Honolulu Tax Court.

Kathryn Franklin M.Sc. Accounting M.Sc. Auditing

Kathryn Franklin is a U.S. Tax Court apprentice and an authorized pro bono student rep in the Honolulu Tax Court. She also is the interim business manager of our free tax clinic on O'ahu. She is a tax manager, seasoned mortgage banker and a very competent construction manager who manages a Montana ranch and hay production business. At TLI, she works closely with the Educational Director at the Tax Litigation Clinic to screen low-income clients and act as liaison between clients and the clinic. She handles client intake and assist with case management.

Samir Bitar E.A. MBA

Kathryn Franklin M.Sc. Accounting M.Sc. Auditing

Samir Bitar E.A. MBA

IRS enrolled agent, bar applicant and U.S. Tax Court apprentice, Samir Bitar, is a Carnegie Mellon MBA and the former museum director at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. He serves as volunteer development officer for the free tax clinic we support. He is charged with fundraising among corporate donors who have significant business interests in Hawai'i. The donations are used to defray our costs to provide free legal services to the low-income taxpayers living on the islands.