Committee Opinions and Treasury Regulation: Tax Lawyer Ethics, 1965-1985
Florida Tax Review, Vol. 15, No. 9, pp. 675-735, 2014
University of Washington School of Law Research Paper No. 2014-16
62 Pages Posted: 7 May 2014 Last revised: 18 May 2016
Date Written: May 2, 2014
Abstract
In the 1940s-1960s, the writings of tax lawyers about their professional responsibilities tended towards the philosophical and patriotic, often focusing on the special role of the tax lawyer in the funding of the civic good. However, by 1985 the ethics literature was focused on technicalities, probabilities, and penalties. From 1965 to 1985 — a period bookended by ABA committee opinions on ethics for tax lawyers — committees and their reports ascended into primary importance in the debates on tax lawyer ethics. This Article documents the literature's transformation during this period.
Keywords: legal ethics, professional responsibility, professional ethics, Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, American Bar Association, ABA, Circular 230
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