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Boston College Law School Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School Boston College Law School Magazine Winter 1-1-2022 BC Law Magazine Winter 2022 Boston College Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclsm Part of the Legal Education Commons
PLUS
HIS T ORY
Mystery
BOSTON COLLEGE
Man
LAW SCHOOL MAGAZINE Escapade Leads
WINTER 2022 Researchers to
BC.EDU/BCLAWMAGAZINE Little-Known Civil
Rights Champion
PROF IL E
Truth
Be Told
What It Takes
to Represent
Whistleblowers
A L UMNI
Bright
Idea
BRINGING
Veterans
Benefit from
Decades of
Legal Help
DOWN
IN THE EFFORT TO DOCUMENT DEFENDANTS’ MISDEEDS
FOR A LANDMARK OPIOID TRIAL, ELLYN HURD ’01 WAS PEERLESS.
THE FACTS SHE AMASSED WERE DEVASTATING.
AN EMPIRE ALSO
HIGH-PROFILE COURT CASES:
BRITNEY SPEARS AND ELIZABETH HOLMES HAD EXPERIENCED
BC LAW ALUMNI ON THEIR SIDE
BC Law Magazine AT FUTURE’S GATE How Winston Bodrick ’22 found his purpose and his calling. Page 10 Photograph by TONY LUONG
Contents
WINTER 2022
VOLUME 30 / NUMBER 1
42 44
Features
48
16
20
His Name Was
Robert Morris
And too many of us have
never heard of him.
Thanks to a new website,
now we have. By Jeri Zeder
24
A Tough Pill to Swallow
12
Big Pharma has deceptively
pushed dangerous opioids
down the throats of a Foremost 8 Faculty Scholarship Esquire
trusting public. Ellyn 2 In Limine From the Editor. Professor Natalya Shnitser; 36 Generations
Hurd ’01 triumphed in a Notable Faculty Publications John F. Bronzo ’74 and his
landmark trial to make 3 For the Record and Milestones. son, John C. Bronzo ’11.
perpetrators accountable. Updates and contributors.
By Chad Konecky 10 Candid Winston Bodrick ’22. 37 Class Notes
4 Behind the Columns
30
The Weight of
What We’ve Achieved:
Milestones mark a year
of transformation.
12 In the Field Andrea Clavijo
’16, Tom Guida ’97, and
other alumni on the job.
42 Alumni News How Sean
Mullaney helped launch
Veterans Legal Services.
the Whistle By Interim Dean Diane M. Ring
For lawyers and clients 14 Brainstorm 44 Click Reunion 2021 and
alike, a whistleblower case Interim Dean Diane Ring Commencement 2020.
is a heavy burden. Resolu- Docket and Hugh Ault discuss the
tions are hard-won, payoffs 6 In Brief Students make an ever evolving world of tax. 46 Raising the Bar The Wayne
uncertain. So, why does impact working in the In- Budd Scholarship.
attorney Phil Brewster ’03 ternational Human Rights 16 Impact Marianne D. Short
do this work? By Jeri Zeder Practicum and BC Defenders ’76 becomes the Law 48 In Closing
program; a tribute to School’s largest benefactor. How do you reconcile your
On the Cover Ellyn Hurd ’01, Jerome Lyle Rappaport; legal and artistic sides?
photographed by Joshua Dalsimer. Around the Academy. 18 Evidence The opioid saga. By Professor Steven Arrigg Koh
Photographs, clockwise from top left, BOB O’CONNOR; JOSHUA DALSIMER; JOHN GILLOOLY; ADAM DETOUR. Ilustration, ALEX NABAUM Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 1
IN LIMINE
Foremost
Oh, the Stories of these marvels into two issues a year. Even
now, with the additional year-round online
doing it? What was the impact? The answers
provide an understanding of the character and
They Tell magazine, lawmagazine.bc.edu, there is still
not enough time and space to capture it all.
grit of a BC Law lawyer (page 24).
And wait until you read about what Sean
Wonders never cease. As the editor It’s a great challenge to have, though. Story- Mullaney ’93 did thirty years ago that laid the
of a magazine reporting on the BC telling is how we come to understand each other, foundation for Veterans Legal Services. His
Law community, I come across the nuances we’d miss otherwise, and the hows action started something that has engaged
miracles of all kinds, day in and day out: The and whys that make the Law School community scores of Law School students and alumni in
remarkable deeds of alumni in all walks of the special. And that’s what these print and digital the support of military brethren over several
legal profession, the scholarly insights of the publications allow us to do: tell stories. decades (page 42).
faculty, the inspiring lives and achievements When Phil Brewster ’03 reached out with Also in the spirit of collegiality and doing
of the students. Imagine trying to corral all news of a client’s involvement in an inter- good, a team of colleagues, some of them Law
national money laundering investigation, it School grads, have come together to establish
was an opportunity to explore what it’s like to a scholarship for BC Law students in the name
represent a whistleblower, an attorney-client of attorney Wayne Budd, MCAS’63, P’90, H’10.
relationship that differs in many ways from According to team member Steven Wright
other such collaborations. It opened a window JD’81, the fund was conceived to perpetuate
onto the particular risks and challenges that Budd’s inspiring legacy of mentorship, caring,
both parties face and the courage they need to and community-building (page 46).
persevere (page 30). So, there you have it, a few enticements to
The evidence-gathering that Ellyn Hurd ’01 enter this issue. They are but a fraction of the
undertook for a massive opioid trial is another things you’ll discover as you read about the
behind-the-scenes tale, this time about the lives and triumphs of those who share your
workings of a landmark case. More than two law school history.
years, hundreds of documents, two-dozen de- VICKI SANDERS, Editor
fendants. How did she do it? Did she even like vicki.sanders@bc.edu
CONNECT
Update your contact information See what colleagues are doing profes- Law’s GOLD graduates. They also Judging Oral Advocacy Competi- fund provide immediate financial
to stay in touch with BC Law. To sionally, read about the latest events, work on various other important tions Hundreds of students partici- support for many of BC Law’s most
learn of ways to help build our build your network, track classmates’ programs and have the opportu- pate in four in-house competitions important needs. Key funding priorities
community, volunteer, or support achievements, and publish your own. nity to connect with fellow BC Law throughout the year: Negotiations have included financial aid, public inter-
the school, contact BC Law’s Join at linkedin.com/school/boston- alumni and expand their professional (fall), Client Counseling (fall), Mock est summer stipends, post-graduate
advancement office: college-law-school. networks. To get involved, email Trial (fall), and Moot Court (spring). fellowships, and faculty research grants.
Sean Macaluso, associate director of Alumni from all career areas are
Maria Tringale BC Law Magazine The magazine Annual Giving Programs, at sean.ma- needed to judge these competitions. Dean’s Council Giving Societies
Director of Development is published twice a year, in January caluso@bc.edu or call 978-580-7614. In appreciation for leadership-level
Email: maria.tringale@bc.edu and June, and year-round online at gifts, members receive invitations to
Call: 617-552-4751 lawmagazine.bc.edu. Contact editor Reunion Committees The most INVEST IN OUR FUTURE special receptions and events and
Vicki Sanders at vicki.sanders@bc.edu successful reunions result when enjoy membership in comparable
Lauren McCauslin or 617-552-2873 to share news, letters engaged volunteers serve on their Advancing Excellence When you University-wide societies. To learn
Director, Alumni Class and School to the editor, or class notes. Reunion Committee. Committees give to BC Law, you have a meaning- more, visit bc.edu/lawgivingsocieties.
Engagement begin forming the summer prior ful impact on our entire community.
Email: bclaw.alumni@bc.edu Regional Chapters & Affinity to reunion weekend, and members Your gifts sustain everything from Drinan Society This society rec-
Call: 617-552-2696 Groups Alumni gather to socialize, spend about two hours per month scholarships that attract and retain ognizes loyal donors. Drinan Society
Visit: bc.edu/lawalumni network, and stay connected. Our on committee work. talented students to faculty research members have given to BC Law for
newest group, Graduates of the Last grants that keep BC Law at the two or more consecutive years, and
To Make a Gift Decade (GOLD), fosters community forefront of scholarship. sustaining members have given for
Email: lawfund@bc.edu among recent graduates. Contact us CONNECT WITH STUDENTS five or more consecutive years. The
Call: 617-552-0054 to start or join a chapter or affinity Named Scholarships Student society is named for Robert F. Drinan,
Visit: bc.edu/givelaw group, or to help organize an event. Mentoring Program The 1L Mentor scholars are selected each academic SJ, who served as dean of BC Law,
Program matches students with year based on a number of factors, 1956 to 1970.
GOLD Class Agents The GOLD alumni in the city where they want such as leadership, financial need,
BUILD OUR ALUMNI COMMUNITY (Graduates of the Last Decade) Class to live and in the practice area they academic excellence, and public Alumni Association Dues Pro-
Agents work closely with BC Law are considering. Mentors serve as service achievements. gram Dues exclusively fund alumni
Online Community BC Law’s to strategize and provide feedback informal advisors between students’ activities and events. Support the
LinkedIn page is a useful resource. on the philanthropic priorities of BC first- and second-year summers. Law School Fund Gifts to the annual program by visiting bc.edu/lawdues.
2 BC LAW MAGAZINE Winter 2022 Editor photograph by DIANA LEVINE
FOR THE RECORD
We’d like to hear from you. Send your letters to
envelope BC Law Magazine, 885 Centre St., Newton, MA
02459-1163, or email to vicki.sanders@bc.edu. Please
include your address, email, and phone number.
leaders. Impressed, a couple in the audi- affiliated others. Bitanga left the Rappler
ence responded with a gift of the halfway board in 2017 to focus on his job with
house purchase price—$750,000. venture-building firm REAPRA. Though
all but one of the charges against him
Backstory on a Peace Prize have been dropped, he has not been back
WINTER 2022 James Bitanga ’06, an alum of Philippine to the Philippines in several years. “Do-
VOLUME 30 / NUMBER 1
heritage who works in Singapore, wrote ing so would mean getting arrested and
INTERIM DEAN
to us in October about his relationship to facing jail time. In other words,” he says.
Diane Ring
journalist Maria Ressa, co-winner of last “I am somewhat of a fugitive.”
EDITOR year’s Nobel Peace Prize. They met in
Vicki Sanders Singapore in the mid-2000s, connecting Re-Sealed
vicki.sanders@bc.edu
over a shared interest in the startup space. When BC Law Professor Daniel Co-
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
The $750,000 Second Chance She discussed her vision of a novel news quillette published On the Battlefield
Robert F. Parsons
The image above illustrated a story in platform where members would engage of Merit in 2015 [“Pro-Slavery Bias
SEVEN ELM
sevenelm.com the Winter 2021 issue about BC Law’s as digital citizens. In 2012, Bitanga and Revealed,” Winter 2016], its revelations
Project Entrepreneur, a course that family members decided to invest in her about Harvard’s historic connections to
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Deborah J. Wakefield
teaches students business law by having project, which became Rappler and grew slavery caused a stir. One item that drew
them work with formerly incarcerated into the Philippines’ biggest news outlet. particular ire was the law school’s official
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
clients interested in starting their own Bitanga served on the board. seal based on the coat of arms of the
Jill Caseria
Austin Chandler
enterprise. One such client, Stacey Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, slaveholding family of Isaac Royall, bene-
Diana Griffith Borden, has proven its value. Since her after his 2016 election, launched an in- factor of Harvard’s first law professor-
Brendan McKinnon ’19 prison release in 2010, she has earned a timidation and disinformation campaign ship. Student protests led to its removal
Margie Palladino ’85 master’s, launched a nonprofit to counsel against Ressa and Rappler for critical in 2016. Five years later, a replacement
David Reich returning women, and began fundrais- coverage of his war on drugs, human has emerged. Veritas, truth, it proclaims,
Travis Salters ’23
ing for a halfway house. She pitched her rights violations, etc. Criminal cases along with lex et iustitia, the Latin phrase
Maura King Scully
Jane Whitehead idea at the end of the course to business were filed against Ressa, Bitanga, and for law and justice.
Jeri Zeder
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Russ Campbell
Joshua Dalsimer CONTRIBUTORS
Chris Gash
John Gillooly
Mena Hall
Diana Levine
Tony Luong
Alex Nabaum
Bob O’Connor
Edel Rodriguez
Christopher Soldt, BC MTS
John W. Tomac
IMAGE SPECIALIST
Adam DeTour
PRINTING
Lane Press
Boston College Law School of Newton,
Massachusetts 02459-1163, publishes Joshua Dalsimer Jeri Zeder John W. Tomac Brendan McKinnon
BC Law Magazine two times a year: PHOTOGRAPHER Dalsimer’s profes- WRITER Zeder is a frequent ILLUSTRATOR Tomac spent a dozen WRITER McKinnon is a Boston-
in January and June. BC Law Magazine
is printed by Lane Press in Burlington,
sional career started at age sixteen, contributor to BC Law Magazine. years as a designer and art director based attorney, 2019 BC Law
VT. We welcome readers’ comments. not with a camera but with a pair Her feature on what it takes to and now works primarily as an graduate, and a frequent contribu-
Contact us by phone at 617-552-2873; of drumsticks, when he set off represent whistleblowers highlights illustrator. Among his clients are tor. He previously served in the US
by mail at Boston College Law
School Magazine, 885 Centre Street, touring with the Mighty Mighty the legal craftsmanship of Phil the New Yorker, Politico, New York Coast Guard and as an assistant
Newton, MA 02459-1163; or by email Bosstones. Later, he discovered Brewster ’03 and the harrowing Times, TIME, and Washington Post. district attorney. For this issue, he
at vicki.sanders@bc.edu. Copyright
© 2022, Boston College Law School.
another creative outlet, photogra- risks involved in the important He has been been recognized interviewed the founder and cur-
All publication rights reserved. phy. Clients include Fast Company, work of calling out wrongdoing by the Society of Illustrators, rent leadership team at Veterans
Opinions expressed in BC Law
Inc., and Outside. He always takes (page 30). Also in this issue is her Communication Arts, American Legal Services about their critical
Magazine do not necessarily reflect some time to get to know his sub- coverage of new faculty research Illustration, among others. For work supporting veterans in Mas-
the views of Boston College Law ject, and in this instance, it was El- that expands our knowledge this assignment, he created an sachusetts (page 42). “I’ve been
School or Boston College.
lyn Hurd ’01. He was delighted to of Robert Morris (1825-1882), Atlas-like figure holding up a giant familiar with VLS since I was still
discover that they both grew up in Boston’s first African American whistle instead of the world to sug- on active duty,” he said, “but this
Massachusetts. He photographed lawyer, including why he deserves gest that whistleblowers have to was a great opportunity to learn
her in his New York studio for this recognition as a founding father of shoulder a large burden when they how integral BC Law was to its
issue’s cover story (page 24). Boston College (page 20). come forward (page 30). creation and success.”
Illustration by EDEL RODRIGUEZ Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 3
BEHIND THE COLUMNS
Foremost
“The Class of 2024 is one of the strongest
academically in our history, with a 165
median LSAT and 3.69 median GPA, and is
the most diverse at 32 percent, including the
largest-ever cohort of forty Black students.”
INTERIM DEAN DIANE M. RING
I have already mentioned the historic diversity in our
entering class. It is a symbol of the importance we’ve
placed on creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclu-
sive community. DEI initiatives include a task force, a
director of programming, faculty and staff training, bias
workshops, and the creation of the 1L required course
Critical Perspectives on the intersections of race, iden-
tity and the law. We also established the Drinan Scholars
Program to train and mentor future law professors who
will support and enhance the diversity of the legal acad-
emy and the legal system. In addition, we are searching
for a senior faculty member whose research and teaching
interests focus on issues related to race and the law, civil
rights, and connected disciplines.
In the areas of rankings and employment, BC Law
continues to earn high marks. US News and World Re-
port ranks us #29 overall and among their Top 10 Best
Value Schools. We are ranked #19 for BigLaw hiring by
the National Law Journal, and Princeton Review ranks
us #9 for both Best Professors and Best Quality of Life.
What We’ve Achieved
Despite the pandemic, graduates are doing very well in
the job market. The Class of 2020 had a 90.2 percent
overall placement rate within ten months of graduation.
Milestones mark a year of transformation. BY INTERIM DEAN DIANE M. RING Early indications are that the Class of 2021 is on an
As Interim Dean, I stepped into the shoes of Vincent Rougeau even better track.
Several milestones in philanthropy bring us to the
last summer and into a whirlwind of transformation and change. search for a new dean and our prospects for a bright future.
The year 2021 was a notable one, marked by good news and mile- Of singular importance is the $10 million gift last
stones at Boston College Law School, several of which are described September from Boston College Trustee Marianne Short
in some depth in this issue of BC Law Magazine. ¶ Our entering ’76, most of which will go to establish the Marianne D.
class, the Class of 2024, is one of the strongest academically in our Short, Esq., Law School Deanship. It is the largest in BC
history, with a 165 median LSAT and 3.69 median GPA, and is the Law’s history and is transformational now as we con-
sider our positioning for the dean’s search. A selection is
most diverse at 32 percent, including the largest-ever cohort of forty anticipated this spring.
Black students. A remarkable admissions cycle, both nationwide To name a few other fundraising results—over the
and at BC Law, yielded nearly 6,400 applications—an increase of 25 past ten years, the endowment has grown from $37
percent over the previous year—and the enrollment of 353 students, million to $107 million and major commitments have
54 percent of whom are women. ¶ As you might imagine, the sheer increased by 50 percent. Cash gifts of $100,000 or more
size of the class required an extensive amount of planning, from have tripled in the last three years.
At BC Law, achievements like these are—and have
parking to classroom scheduling to extra support staff and resourc- always been—about more than the math. The generosity
es. BC Law Student Ambassadors also led a series of community- of our alumni, the rigor of our faculty, and the excellence
building events for the Class of 2024 during the summer followed by and diversity of our students have always been hallmarks
a welcome BBQ the first day of classes. of this remarkable community.
4 BC LAW MAGAZINE Winter 2022 Photograph by CHRISTOPHER SOLDT, MTS, BC
Campus News and Events of Note
IN BRIEF 6
FACULTY
SCHOLARSHIP 8
CANDID 10
IN THE FIELD 12
BRAINSTORM 14
IMPACT 16
EVIDENCE 18
A BRIGHT LIGHT AT GE
Andrea Clavijo ’16 has risen quickly
at the multinational conglomerate to
senior compliance counsel and deputy
human rights leader. The job fits this
Florida-born daughter of Venezuelan
immigrants perfectly. She puts her
journalism and law degrees to good
use as she redrafts company policies
and codes of conduct. Page 12
Photograph by MENA HALL Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 5
DOCKET
In Brief
the point of looking bored, until
he was grabbed first by one officer
and then taken to the ground by
seven or eight white officers. He
was alleged to have kicked one of
the officers while he was on the
ground. Thanks to the advocacy of
Carney and Zerfoss, the jury took
only eighteen minutes to return
their verdict of not guilty.
Six days after the jury trial,
Zerfoss—this time accompanied
by Sarah Nyaeme ’21—had a
bench trial. The students repre-
sented a young woman initially
charged with three counts of as-
sault and battery and three counts
Jineth Bedoya
of assault and battery with a dan-
gerous weapon (ABDW). For the
bench trial, the Commonwealth
Clinical Strides argued two points—enforceabili-
ty and scope of the right to health
moved forward with only one
count of each of the charges. Once
At home and abroad, students’ work impacts lives and livelihoods. in mental disability cases and again, the BC Defenders’ advocacy
BY VICKI SANDERS forced disappearance. On both led to a positive outcome. The
issues, Urosa says of the court’s felony charge of ABDW was di-
Scores of cases are taken up every year by BC Law’s Center decision, “I can see the influence rected out by the judge, and then,
for Experiential Learning. The International Human Rights of our brief.” after closing arguments, the client
Practicum and the BC Defenders clinic are examples of the ex- was found not guilty of assault
emplary work that students—despite the disruptions of Covid-19—have Case in Point 2: For this year’s BC and battery. This had been the
been doing to confront abuses abroad and injustices at home. Defenders clinic, under the direc- client’s first criminal arrest, so the
tion of Visiting Professor Kari verdict helped keep alive her hope
Case in Point 1: The Human The court did so, thanks in part Tannenbaum, a single jury trial of attending law school one day.
Rights Practicum, directed by to the amicus written by then- would have been significant, but Meanwhile, Zerfoss also
Adjunct Professor Daniela Urosa, law students Julia Novak ’21 and it turned out to have been but one argued two different motions to
recently influenced two landmark Liadan Nunain LLM ’20. Their among many achievements. dismiss in other cases. And as the
decisions by the Inter-American work also demonstrated that an Almost exactly one year to the semester was nearing its end, the
Court of Human Rights (IACHR). experiential-learning team with day after the courts closed in 2020 BC Defenders team, which also
Colombian investigative a global focus could uphold, on due to the Covid-19 pandemic, stu- included Kyle Amell, Shawn Pe-
journalist Jineth Bedoya, while the international stage, a pillar of dent attorneys Nat Carney ’21 and trini, Jesslin Wooliver, and Sarah
reporting outside a Bogotá prison democracy: the right of freedom of Kayla Zerfoss ’21 appeared in the Carlow, was handling an addition-
in 2000, was kidnapped, then tor- expression, Urosa says. Dorchester Division of the Boston al four jury trials and a motion-to-
tured and raped by paramilitaries. The practicum’s other Municipal Court for a jury trial. suppress evidentiary hearing.
Her case against Colombia was contribution was its amicus The client was a young Black “This term’s BC Defenders
significant because it was the first brief in Guachalá Chimbo et al. man charged with assault and have all mocked, edited, sup-
to give the IACHR an opportunity v. Ecuador. The case involved battery on a police officer at the ported, and worked so hard
to develop a gender-sensitive, the disappearance of a mentally police station where he was be- together on all of these cases,”
affirmative action standard disabled Ecuadorian man. The ing booked after a traffic stop for says an admiring Tannenbaum.
requiring states to guarantee students involved in this case driving without a license. The “I couldn’t be prouder of all they
the safety of women journalists were Marija Tesla ’22 and Nadia entire incident was on video and have accomplished…for almost
in situations of particular risk. Bouquet LLM ’20. Their amicus showed the client cooperative to forty total clients this year.”
6 BC LAW MAGAZINE Winter 2022 Photograph by DANIEL CIMA
TRIBUTES
Jerome and Phyllis Rappaport
in 2015 with then-Dean Vincent Rougeau, left,
and Professor Michael Cassidy, right.
A Stand-up Fellow
Paul Kane, Educator, Senior Partner.
In Boston’s legal community, Paul M. Kane ’70
was a standout. He was a big man with a big heart,
a pioneering figure in family law, and a born
educator. He was also a giant at BC Law. A Double
Eagle, Kane graduated from the Law School in
1970, taking on the mantle of assistant dean under populated by up-and-coming leaders in civil
Dick Huber and beginning a forty-year stint as a
lecturer on family law.
A Policy Visionary rights, public rights, urban planning, and legal
When he passed away in September, the senior Jerome Lyle Rappaport, Philanthropist. defense; Boston’s new mayor, Michelle Wu, is
partner at McGrath and Kane left behind adoring among them.
friends like Mary McCabe ’78, who offered a know-
ing summary: “He was generous and funny and sar- During his long career as a developer, civic “Jerry Rappaport was a visionary leader. He
castic and self-deprecating but not falsely humble, leader, and policy guru, Jerome Lyle Rap- led by example, in a way that raised others up
and he was so very, very smart. He delighted in paport made an indelible mark not only on and enriched his community,” said Interim
the successes of others and didn’t suffer fools. He
wanted to hear your story more than needing to tell Massachusetts but also on Boston College Dean Diane Ring upon learning of his passing in
his own. I am the better for having known him.” Law School. In 2015, the Phyllis and Jerome December. She described the Rappaport Center
Lyle Rappaport Foundation gave $7.53 million as a central part of the Law School’s program-
to support the Rappaport Center for Law and ming and expressed gratitude for the additional
Public Policy upon its move to BC Law from opportunities it has given to students.
Suffolk University. Furthermore, said the center’s executive
In the years that have followed, the Law director, Elisabeth “Lissy” Medvedow, he has
School has become a veritable fortress of “encouraged law students, graduate students,
policy debate and distinction with an exten- and hundreds of public-service-minded indi-
sive series of speakers, panels of top experts, viduals to become ‘emerging leaders’ to create
Paul Kane ’70
and a roster of distinguished visiting profes- positive change for communities. He inspired
sors. The Senior Fellows program has been all of us to do better for the world around us.”
AROUND THE ACADEMY
Patricia J. Williams Christine Kim Edward R. McNicholas Nkechi Taifa Senator Doug Jones
The MacArthur Fellow, leading The University of Utah law pro- Co-leader of Ropes & Gray’s The president of the social The Democrat and former
authority on race, and professor fessor, whose research interests data, privacy, and cybersecurity enterprise Taifa Group spoke Alabama senator is the spring
of law and humanities at North- include taxation of complicated practice, McNicholas was among on a Rappaport Center for Law Jerome Lyle Rappaport Distin-
eastern University helped launch investment structures, was the twenty-nine speakers at the fourth and Public Policy panel entitled guished Visiting Professor. His
BC Law’s 1L Critical Perspectives first to present in last semester’s annual International Intellectual “Reparations: Issues, Challenges, seminar, “The United States Sen-
in Law and Professional Identity Tax Policy Workshop speaker Property (IP) Summit held virtu- and Opportunities” in September. ate Today: How It Works; Why It
course as a co-keynoter (with series. She presented “A New ally in October. He moderated a One of her observations: “At this Doesn’t,” is a real-time study of
UC Berkeley’s Khiara Bridges) on Framework for Digital Taxation,” panel on the evolution of global time, the winds of change are the day-to-day workings of the
September 9. The conversation which she’s writing in collabora- cybersecurity and privacy law in shifting and support reparations Senate. Students are acting as
RAPPAPORT: LEE PELLEGRINI
focused on the intersection of tion with Michigan Law’s Reuven light of trends toward data sover- like a casket being thrust wide staffers for a US senator through-
law and race, gender, power, and Avi-Yonah and Karen Sam. Their eignty threatening to undermine open. Reparations is not history. out the semester, being assigned
class. One issue Williams raised article offers the first compre- cross-border exchange. The event It’s not a thing of the past, but it is to duties such as legislation, press,
was how structural ignorance, hensive critique of the proposed was co-sponsored by Ropes & about historical justice,” Taifa said. and committees. Class assign-
a misunderstanding of history, Inclusive Framework and assesses Gray and BC Law’s Program on “And until justice is done, it will ments track the Senate’s spring
continues to hold us back. its prospects and problems. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. always be part of my journey.” schedule and activities.
Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 7DOCKET
Faculty
Scholarship Professor Shnitser credits the professional employer organizations with expanding access to
workplace retirement plans [for small businesses], but she worries that some PEOs are taking advantage
of inadequate government oversight in an area where the law hasn’t caught up with reality.
Eyeing
Retirement
Plan Fees
Shnitser’s research goes deep.
BY DAVID REICH
The Idea: Professional employer
organizations (PEOs), a kind of
for-profit business, perform human
resource functions for small employers,
including the provision of retirement
plans. By pooling investments from
employees at numerous workplaces,
PEOs seek leverage and scale that
should translate into lower plan ex-
penses. However, empirical analysis of
hand-collected data suggests that the
total plan fees for existing PEO plans
are significantly higher than the fees
for single-employer plans of compa-
rable size. If PEOs had to make fuller
disclosures in their annual Depart-
ment of Labor (DOL) filings, employers,
employees, and third parties could
more easily monitor and compare
PEO plans, and the DOL would get key
information necessary to protect the
retirement savings of some four mil-
lion Americans.
The Impact: A 2020 article in the
Journal of Corporation Law has been
making a splash in the financial press,
with a 700-word recap in Invest-
mentNews and shorter summaries
in Bloomberg Law, Human Interest,
FiduciaryNews, and BenefitsLink. The
article and two others by BC Law Pro-
fessor Natalya Shnitser also caught
the eye of a staffer for the senate presi-
dent of a high-population industrial
POCKET RÉSUMÉ
state, who reached out to Shnitser
and has been getting her input on how Natalya Shnitser Degrees JD, Yale. MA in International Policy Studies and BA, Stanford. Credentials Associate,
lawmakers might protect retirement Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Associate Research Scholar and Executive Director of the Yale Law School Center for
the Study of Corporate Law. Faculty member teaching corporate law, employee benefits law, and other courses,
savings from unreasonable fees. Boston College Law School, 2014-present. Articles Iowa Law Review, Journal of Corporation Law, Yale Journal on Regulation,
By way of explaining the PEOs’ rise, and other publications. Service Past Chair of AALS Section on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation.
Shnitser points to their sales pitch
8 BC LAW MAGAZINE Winter 2022 Illustration by KAGAN McLEODto employers: Your core competency isn’t benefits for the largest five PEO-sponsored plans than for FACULTY
administration; let us worry about that. After all, as similarly sized single-employer plans. MILESTONES
she puts it, “Not every small business needs to run Granted, these differences amount to fractions of
History Matters
its own retirement plan.” An estimated 173,000 a percentage point, but as Shnitser notes, seemingly Bancroft Prize-winning Mary Sarah
businesses, with roughly 4 million total employees, small differences in fees, compounded over a work- Bilder was among 23 Distinguished
have turned to PEOs. Shnitser credits the PEOs ing life, can cost a retiree “thousands of dollars in Lecturers selected in 2021 by the
Organization of American Historians
with expanding access to workplace retirement foregone savings.” By law, employers must oversee to serve an extendable three-year
plans, but she worries that some PEOs are taking the work of PEO sponsors of retirement plans, but term. The Founders Professor of Law
advantage of inadequate government oversight in in practice many don’t. For one thing, Shnitser says, joined a roster of nearly 600 prominent
scholars who speak to audiences across
an area where the law hasn’t caught up with reality. the law has gone largely unenforced. For another, the country on all aspects of US history.
In addition to claiming expertise in retirement management may let down their guard, thinking, In December, she was also a featured
plan administration, PEOs, by bundling assets “Let another client company worry about it.” Finally, panelist in the US National Archives
discussion “Anti-Federalists and the Bill
from workers at multiple businesses, attain the a business that lacks the expertise to sponsor a of Rights.”
size to reduce administrative costs and get favor- retirement plan may find it challenging to oversee
able deals from investment firms. A few years a PEO-sponsored plan, especially when apples-to- At Long Last
ago, Shnitser set out to see if those things were apples comparisons of fees are difficult to obtain. In the 1970s, Zygmunt Plater fought to
really happening, by looking at Department of Shnitser takes some comfort from draft regula- save a tiny fish from extinction as lead
counsel in litigation against the Ten-
Labor filings by retirement plan sponsors. It was a tions proposed last September by the DOL. In nessee Valley Authority’s Tellico Dam.
monumental task. The professor and her research written comments to the department, she observes The case led to a crucial US Supreme
assistants examined almost 3,000 filings. Because that the draft rules advance the state of play by fur- Court decision in 1978 that fortified the
Endangered Species Act by protecting
filings by PEOs don’t look any different from filings ther standardizing fee disclosures and by requiring imperiled plants and animals “whatever
by other sponsors of multiple-employer retire- PEO retirement plans to identify themselves as the cost.” Forty-three years later, in Au-
ment plans (MEPs), including those run by trade such in filings. However, Shnitser raises the con- gust 2021, there was another victory for
Plater, author of The Snail Darter and
associations and corporate conglomerates, the cern that under the DOL proposal, PEOs that spon- the Dam, when the US Fish and Wildlife
researchers had to look up the name of every plan sor “pooled employer plans” or PEPs—a new type Service removed the now-thriving
sponsor, determine which were PEOs, and then of plan created by Congress in 2019—would be creature from the endangered list.
examine the fees the plans were charging. subject to more stringent disclosure requirements
What they found should concern public than PEOs that sponsor MEPs despite extensive Newcomer
Vik Kanwar, a well-traveled scholar,
policymakers, not to mention workers hoping to similarities between the plan types. professor, and program administrator
build a retirement nest egg. On average, Shnitser Shnitser admits that all the talk of PEOs, PEPs, who has worked at major universities
writes, PEO plans charged .86 percent of assets MEPs, and so on takes her deep “into the weeds.” and agencies around the globe, joined
BC Law last semester as Director of
for administrative fees, more than 2.5 times the But regulations that determine how such entities Graduate and Global Programs.
average administrative fee for single-employer are governed “affect retirement security for mil-
retirement plans. Total fees, including administra- lions of Americans,” she says. “That’s why I devote Our Brain Trust
tive and investment costs, were also much higher so much of my time to looking at these details.” R. Michael Cassidy was appointed by
the Supreme Judicial Court of Mas-
sachusetts to a four-year term on the
Board of Bar Overseers. Daniel Lyons
NOTABLE FACULTY PUBLICATIONS testified before Congress on holding
Big Tech accountable. For the third time,
Ray Madoff, philanthropy expert, was
Joseph P. Liu and Alfred C. David Wirth, as co-author, Shu-Yi Oei and Diane M. Daniel Farbman, in the Car- named to the NonProfit Times 2021
Yen Joseph P. Liu and Alfred addressed emissions trading Ring, writing in Alabama dozo Law Review article “An Power & Influence Top 50, and she and
C. Yen authored Copyright in Climate Law and hazardous Law Review, examine how Outrage Upon Our Feelings: John Arnold were named Philanthropy
Law, Essential Cases and substances and activities increasingly ubiquitous data The Role of Local Governments Critics of the Year by Inside Philan-
Materials (4th Ed.), American in The Oxford Handbook of and information affect the role in Resistance Movements,” thropy. Jeff Cohen spoke to Reuters,
Casebook Series. According to International Environmental of “slack” in law, defined as the responds to Trump opponents’ the New York Times, and CBS News
publisher West Academic, the Law. He also wrote the informal latitude to break the observation after the 2016 about the Ghislaine Maxwell, Elizabeth
casebook selectively focuses chapter, “Scientific experts in law without sanction. “Slack election that local govern- Holmes, and Varsity Blues admissions
on the major cases, doctrines, WTO dispute settlement,” in is important in allowing flex- ments and local power would trials. The Worcester Telegram cited
ideas, and theories. “The Trade and Environmental Law ibility and forbearance in the be the best tools to resist his Mark Brodin’s findings that civil service
result is a streamlined and in which he discusses actions legal system, but it also risks policies. Farbman’s research exams hurt hiring and advancement
well-organized casebook…that that, he says, have counterpro- enabling selective and uneven takes him back to acts of local of qualified minority candidates and
keeps the central themes of ductively tended to undermine enforcement,” they write in resistance dating to the 1850s couldn’t predict success in public safety
copyright front and center.” scientific integrity. “‘Slack’ in the Data Age.” and the Fugitive Slave Act. positions, particularly for supervisors.
Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 9DOCKET
Candid
“This city is changing right before our eyes,
and I want to be part of the brush that paints
the future of this city.”
At Future’s Gate
How Winston Bodrick ’22
found his purpose and his calling.
INTERVIEW BY TRAVIS SALTERS ’23
Shaped by Atlanta, called to Boston. I’m the son
of a pastor and an educator. My parents instilled
in me the importance of putting the community
at the center of everything. Growing up in Atlanta
and attending Morehouse College, I’ve always been
surrounded by Black excellence (and southern
hospitality), which gave me the confidence to excel.
Now, Boston is my home. My family is here. My
church is here.
Everyone deals with imposter syndrome. My time
at Dartmouth College was an opportunity for reflec-
tion, self-exploration, and an understanding of my
Blackness in a predominately White space. I stud-
ied Black mayors and was inspired by executives
like Vernon Jordan and Ken Chenault. I developed
a keen interest in bettering my community through
economic empowerment, politics, and law. When I
worked as a political fundraiser on a gubernatorial
campaign, I recognized the ties between politics
and business. Political fundraising taught me how
to not be afraid to make big asks, and broke the ice
of confidence for how to speak to people in power.
Boston is my canvas. Boston is ripe for opportunity.
This city is changing right before our eyes, and I
want to be part of the brush that paints the future
of this city. I would love to continue building upon
Boston’s legacy of Black excellence.
My responsibility is to be a gate opener, not a gate-
keeper. I don’t want to just reap the benefits of my
foremothers and forefathers. I want to take what
I’ve learned from them, pay it forward, and use it.
That’s our purpose. Once you attain the knowledge, STUDENT SNAPSHOT
skills, and opportunities, you shouldn’t hoard it.
Provenance Atlanta, Georgia. Learning Morehouse College, BA in Sociology; two-sport athlete
Let it go so it can do its own work. in football, baseball; study abroad & researcher in Ghana; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Psi Chapter.
Dartmouth College: MA in Cultural Studies; study abroad at University of Oxford; Dartmouth College
A changing calculus. I’m blessed to be a father to a Presidential Fellow; Vice President of Graduate Student Council; Dartmouth Inclusive Excellence
beautiful baby girl. Every decision has some conse- Committee. Pre-Law Deputy Director of Finance for a MA gubernatorial campaign; Director of
Recruitment at The Partnership, Inc. At BC Law 1L Legal Intern at Fidelity Investments; 1L Legal
quence on my daughter. It’s a changing calculus. I’m Intern at NASDAQ; alternative spring break at Disability Rights Louisiana; 2L Summer Associate at
not ultimately responsible just for me; now every- Kirkland & Ellis; 3L Legal Extern at The Carlyle Group; BLSA External Vice President (2020-21);
thing has an impact on another person. I strive to Member of NEBLSA and LAHANAS. Community Involvement Trustee, Historic Twelfth Baptist
Church, Roxbury, MA; Vice President, Greater Boston Morehouse College Alumni Association;
make it so that she can pick it up where I left off and Member, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Favorite Pastime Friday night high school football under the
chart a new lane for herself and her community. lights at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta, GA. Fun Fact He has a startup company with his two brothers.
10 BC LAW MAGAZINE Winter 2022 Photograph by TONY LUONGWinter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 11
DOCKET
In the Field
help the multinational conglom-
erate do the right thing.
“My fellowship was designed as
a one-year experience to get my
feet wet in day-to-day compliance
operations,” explains Clavijo. “By
week three, I was traveling to Par-
is and working on investigations.
GE supported and empowered
me from day one, so I promised
POCKET RÉSUMÉ
Andrea Clavijo ’16 Senior Compliance
Counsel and Deputy Human Rights Leader,
GE. Making a Run for It She completed
the Boston Marathon in 2018. “Running
along the Charles River is my happy place.”
Table This She loves tapping into her
Venezuelan roots when crafting cocktails and
assembling charcuterie boards.
myself that I would give it my all
that year in the hopes of securing
a full-time job.”
Clavijo achieved that goal and
more. She received the job offer
during a time when GE was expe-
riencing a number of senior-level
transitions and historic changes to
its business portfolio. “The chang-
es meant that I inherited and
absorbed more seasoned work,”
recalls Clavijo. “I was determined
about proving my worth and value
during a period of transformation.”
At the top of Clavijo’s priority
list was the company’s code of
conduct and compliance poli-
cies. Heavy on legalese and overly
wordy, they needed a serious
overhaul. With an undergraduate
degree in journalism, Clavijo felt
strongly that words matter and
that the company needed to make
Doing the When it comes to Andrea Clavijo ’16, it’s hard to
imagine a more meteoric rise in a company that
it as easy as possible for employ-
ees to make ethical choices. She
Right Thing lights up the world. From the moment she joined GE
as a Heineman Compliance Fellow in 2016 to her March 2021
became the driving force behind
the latest version of “The Spirit
Compliance counsel on the fast track. promotion to senior compliance counsel and deputy human & the Letter,” GE’s global code of
BY MAURA KING SCULLY rights leader, Clavijo has been working at breakneck speed to conduct, which both requires and
12 BC LAW MAGAZINE Winter 2022 Photograph by MENA HALL1 2 3 4
inspires employees to act ethi-
cally at all times.
Paths to Success who want to go in-house
to hone their technical ex-
ized and denied access to
justice. This congruency in
“We have key policy summa-
Alumni find career pertise as well as their soft values and mission is what
ries and resources for all types of
satisfaction in diverse places. skills. “Communication, gives my life’s work mean-
judgment, and leadership ing and purpose.”
learners, and we use the simplest 1. Kevin Bruen ’89 privately manufactured are critical to being suc-
language possible,” says Clavijo. Pulling Rank In June, he weapons from parts that cessful in-house.” 4. Jamie Hacker ’13
“We have found that people want was confirmed as the 17th do not have serial numbers Power Play She joined the
to do the right thing, but it needs superintendent of the New and are untraceable.” 3. Beth Williams ’10 National Hockey League
York State Police (NYSP), Hitting Her Stride She was (NHL) legal department
to be easy for them to understand where he previously served 2. Eben Krim ’01 recently appointed the first in 2017 and now serves as
how to comply.” as both acting superinten- Safe and Sound As chief general counsel for Race counsel. As a law student,
The policies apply not only dent and first deputy super- labor and employment Forward, which advances she interned with the
to employees but also to GE’s intendent. The Triple Eagle counsel for Honeywell racial justice in policies, National Football League
partners, suppliers, and subcon- also did a stint as deputy International’s Safety and institutions, and culture. “I and then went on to a
commissioner and counsel Productivity Solutions am excited to develop a four-year stint at Dechert
tractors. Wearing her hat as the of the New York State division, he develops long-term strategic vision as an associate. “I had
company’s No. 2 human rights Department of Corrections complex policies and for the legal department always hoped to marry
leader, Clavijo is part of a team and Community Supervi- procedures for the global that is in alignment with my love of sports with my
that provides daily advice on how sion. “Being general coun- company’s workforce in the organization’s vision passion for the law. Moving
to implement human rights norms. sel at New York DOCCS more than 100 countries. and help lay a foundation to the NHL was a dream
was a great opportunity to Diversity Matters Since for success.” Common come true.” Ice Time “It’s a
“We have made operational- lead fifty lawyers working joining the company in Ground “As an LGBT, gen- challenge to keep our game
izing human rights a top priority,” on an incredible range of 2010, he’s made diversity, der non-conforming per- going in the Covid-era, but
says Clavijo. “We operate in 170 legal issues, everything equity, and inclusion a son with Native American I’m happy that in these
countries. Each of those locations from state-issued bonds priority. “If you consider heritage, I find the values unprecedented conditions,
carries different human rights to contract disputes to diverse people at an equal and mission inherent in we’ve awarded two Stanley
product liability.” Trigger rate and you have a fair social justice organizations Cup Championships and
risks. We are involved in a lot Issues “My biggest concern process, you should end up like Race Forward tend to are currently playing a full
of construction work, building is the rise in gun violence, hiring diversity at an equal closely align with my own. season schedule. Seeing
power stations, wind farms, and particularly in midsize rate. It’s a question of ‘at We measure success by the each game play out on the
life-saving healthcare equipment. to smaller cities, and the bats.’ You can’t get a hit if extent to which we help ice, and the love that fans
We want to make sure that work- rapid growth in so-called you don’t get to bat.” Soft lift up and protect people have for this game, never
‘ghost guns,’ which are Skills He urges attorneys who have been marginal- gets old.” —MKS
ers down the supply chain are safe,
supported, and paid adequately.”
Clavijo also puts doing the right
thing at the top of her personal GUIDA FINDS HIS NICHE
agenda. For the past five years,
she has volunteered as a legal
AT MARV STUDIOS
mentor for Discovering Justice, Tom Guida ’97 “Where do we find the money? Can we films. His first film, Manhattan Night, starred Adrien Brody
a Boston-based nonprofit that get the rights? The talent?” These are the questions that and Yvonne Strahovski and was released worldwide in 2016.
provides civic education programs Guida, a Double Eagle, asks and answers every day as “Making a film is the most artistic puzzle you can ever put
general counsel and executive vice president for business together, especially your first one,” says Guida. “What’s
for youth in the Commonwealth. and legal affairs at Marv Studios, a British film production always surprising to me is how good filmmaking can turn
Clavijo teaches middle schoolers company best known for the Kingsman trilogy, Kick-Ass, on a key decision. All it takes is one editing decision to turn
how to prepare for mock trials, and Layer Cake as well as Stardust and Eddie the Eagle. a bad scene into a good one. There are so many choices.”
which are held at the Moakley US “My job is to solve problems,” explains Guida, who is Guida’s second film, Trust, was released theatrically
Courthouse in Boston. She’s also based in London and joined Marv from private practice in last March. A romantic drama starring Victoria Justice
2020. “What the cre- and Matthew Daddario, it is now available on Hulu in the
involved in the Hispanic Na- atives don’t want to US and Netflix in other countries.
tional Bar Association, the BC Law hear is ‘no.’ My job Guida launched his legal career in banking and insur-
GOLD Committee, and the Boston is to say, ‘Here’s the ance, then segued into the digital space before finding
Bar Association Diversity, Equity, issue, here’s how we his true calling, taking pro bono work for creatives until
and Inclusion Steering Committee. solve it.’ When I do he could legitimately call himself an entertainment and
say ‘no,’ they know television lawyer. He is also a member of London Comedy
“I just turned thirty and bought it’s really a ‘no.’” Writers and is currently shopping a sitcom pilot. “There is
my first home,” says Clavijo. “I Guida also pro- no difference between my vocation and avocation,” says
know the best is yet to come.” duces independent Guida. “I love what I do.” —MKS
Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 13DOCKET Brainstorm 14
Q+A
WITH
“There’s a huge paradigm shift in international tax rules.
Trying to work out how to tax the digital economy is the core of most of the problems.”
HUGH
PROFESSOR HUGH AULT
AULT
and INTERIM DEAN HA: Countries are increas- mess. The companies don’t win, HA: Similarly, the IRS has more
DIANE RING ingly aware of the importance of the countries don’t win. incentive to audit the childcare
cooperation in international tax The UN Model Double credit of unrepresented lower
matters. What I’ve found most Taxation Convention has a draft middle-class families than to
satisfying is the development of article (12B) on how digital ser- face the sophisticated lawyers
the OECD from this tight club vices taxes should be structured. of a higher earner. I think the
of some thirty-five high-income A lot of developing countries are whole focus of administration
countries—of which South using that as the basis for their should be more on high-end,
Korea was the last to join—into domestic legislation when they high-net-worth individuals and
the so-called Inclusive Frame- put in additional services taxes. away from the easy cases, the
work, which is now more than It’s important that this came low-hanging fruit.
130 countries. It is an interna- from the UN, so the developing
tional tax organization that we countries were at the table, they DR: That reminds me of re-
wouldn’t have dreamed was had buy-in on it, and it wasn’t search by former National Tax-
possible in 1998 when I began the OECD saying in a kind of payer Advocate Nina Olson that
working with the OECD. neo-colonial way, this is what revealed unwarranted dispari-
you countries ought to do. ties in the treatment of taxpayers
DR: There’s also more attention settling certain issues with the
paid to the fact that countries DR: My colleague Shu-Yi Oei and IRS. Among taxpayers accused
have different needs. The top I looked at how tax rules pertain of FATCA [Foreign Account
tax priorities of developing na- to ridesharing businesses like Tax Compliance Act] violations
The Ever tions looking for a path to stable
revenue may look different both
Uber and Lyft. For one paper, we
read over a year’s worth of online
who settled with the IRS for not
disclosing foreign bank accounts,
Evolving from more developed countries
and from each other, depending
posts where rideshare drivers
talk to each other, to understand
lower income people, includ-
ing immigrants who still held
World on their domestic infrastructure,
economic position, existing net-
how they’re experiencing the
tax system. Some were engaged
assets in their home countries,
paid disproportionately higher
of Tax work of tax agreements and tools,
and substantive tax system.
in deep back and forth about tax
law. What was deductible as a
penalties than the wealthier and
better advised taxpayers.
Diligence and research ridesharing driver? How do you IRS resources are another
improve outcomes. HA: Yes, I suppose the most document it? Even when they huge issue. Over the past couple
EDITED BY JANE WHITEHEAD important lesson is that one size were wrong, they were trying to of years, the IRS has seen hir-
doesn’t fit all. And that all coun- grapple with the rules. What was ing freezes and retirements
INTERIM BC LAW DEAN DIANE M. tries have to come to a balance clear was that they were finding of experienced officers with
Ring and Professor Emeritus
between revenue needs and the system very complicated. the sophistication and train-
Hugh J. Ault have spent decades
studying taxation at home and efficiency, taking into account The system is treating these ing to audit partnerships, for
abroad. Both have consulted to their available resources. workers as if they were small example, which, because of the
the United Nations on strength- What’s more, there’s a huge businesses, with requirements complexity of the rules, can be
ening tax systems in developing paradigm shift in international for filing, reporting, and record playgrounds for the high-end
countries. Recently, Ault saw the tax rules. Trying to work out keeping. But these drivers are of- earners you mentioned, Hugh.
successful results of his work with
how to tax the digital economy ten doing it part-time as students, At the same time, the IRS
the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development is the core of most of the prob- or between jobs, and they’re not has been losing resources for
(OECD) to establish principles lems. One important change is always going to invest the time training, so they have neither
for the possible application of the introduction of so-called to understand the rules better sufficient senior people to guide
a global minimum tax, and Ring digital service taxes that allow because they do not see “being in juniors, nor the kind of training
explored the rise of the sharing countries to tax companies with business” as their longer-term they need to move them along.
economy and its implications for
no physical presence within path. So, what you start to see is a Although there has been
US tax law, as well as IRS policies
and declining resources. Here they their borders. But if you have a clash between our tax regime for some improvement recently,
discuss some current develop- jungle of overlapping, conflict- small businesses, and what’s re- that continues to be a major
ments and concerns in those areas. ing digital services taxes, it’s a alistic for this group of taxpayers. concern to me.
Illustration by KAGAN MCLEOD Winter 2022 BC LAW MAGAZINE 15You can also read
