Hi,

I'm applying to tax programs and was wondering if you guys can give me some info about Golden Gate and its rep in the tax industry. I just graduated last May and am having trouble finding work in the tax/estate planning field in SF. Getting my LLM seems like a good way to defer my loans and hopefully make myself more marketable. I would like to stay in the CA area and GG is the only tax program in Northern California. Thanks!

I don't know anything about their Tax program, but Golden Gate is a 4th tier school. You will never get a job in this market if you go there. No one should pay 30 grand for a 4th tier school. Aim higher, you can do it!

I know.. the problem is that I don't have a job as it is. I went to a 1st tier school with good grades but I keep applying for jobs and no takers as yet. So... I was thinking that an LLM may help my situation.

I hear that. It's a really bad job market right now, but I doubt a 4th tier school is the answer.

That said, I don't know anything about their tax LLM program, so maybe I'm wrong. Still, I'd apply to a couple other programs like FL or Georgetown (assuming the deadlines aren't passed) and hope for the best there. If you went to a tier 1 school and your grades are acceptable, you might have a chance....

Don't be obsessed with ranking. As a matter of fact, Tax programs don't even get officially ranked; just the JD programs. GGU's tax program is really well known and respected nationally. It's the largest graduate tax program in the nation. GGU won first place in the only national tax education competition ever held. Its graduates get good jobs. So don't listen to that post. It sounds like you know from personal experience that ranking isn't all it's cracked up to be. Take it from me, GGU's tax program is top-notch.

I would recommend GGU's LL.M. in Taxation to anyone.
My professor for Corporate Taxation and Partnership Taxation wrote the textbook - the same book used at NYU, Miami, and all the other good programs - and was an excellent teacher. My professor for Tax Procedure was a sitting judge with years of tax controversy experience. The program was full of practicing attorneys so the small classes had lots of practical discussion.
This is from a post by taxlawyer

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/san-francisco-ca/golden-gate-university-1205

I just got accepted into the program and was given some money also. I come from a top 100 US law school with a B average with almost exclusively family law experience.

I recommend GGU's Tax program. I would not touch their JD with a ten foot pole (unless I had no better options) but their Tax program is respected. You'll find others with more prestige, but this is a good tax LLM. It suffers slightly in reputation only because the school is 4th tier for its JD program. (And yes, I am a GGU tax alum.)

I would not recommend any graduate tax program just because you are having difficulty finding work as an attorney. If you do not love or enjoy tax, you should not waste a year's worth of tuition, living expense (in the Bay Area no less) and time solely because you cannot find work.

Read the following paper before you apply:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1577966

I currently am a 3L at Rutgers Law School. I have researched tax programs extensively. I am from the northeast, so things may be a little different. From my understanding, there are only three programs to go to: (1) NYU, (2) Georgetown, and (3) Florida. These are the only three nationally recognized programs. I have spoken to numerous tax attorneys and tax professors and they all have said the same thing = don't go anywhere else, especially in this economy.

I would highly suggest not going to a T4 tax program. I am applying to the top three programs. Even if I do get into one of the programs, I am not sure I am attending. LLM's are extremely expensive and may not help your job opportunities.

Hiring recruiters and firms look at what LS you graduated from first and foremost. The original poster graduated from a Tier 1 school, if she is certain that she wants to have a career in tax, then I do not see an issue with her attending a regional one year program. In the meantime, she could be networking in the city. GGU is in the financial district of SF.

mstreis is spot on

A cursory view of both accounting and law firms at San Francisco presents a different perspective:
http://www.bakermckenzie.com/ourpeople/List.aspx?schools=a5334071-6a0e-4504-8957-ad013ea9c8fc

http://www.bpmcpa.com/People/searchResults.asp?search=golden+gate&x=0&y=0&mode=allwords

http://www.novoco.com/

http://www.hemming.com/search.php

Seeing how you are struggling to find work, why not open your search database to accounting firms too? It is definitely something you might want to consider, Malibuelle! (Especially if you are gungho about pursuing a career in tax.)

The LLM may compensate for the ranking of your LS, but it is certainly not going to trivialize where you attended..

Golden Gate University has a very good law school and its tax program is extremely well respected in San Francisco. GGU doesn't have the money to compete with some of the large institutions. Still, it was ranked "Best LLM Program in Calif" by the Recorder (ahead of Berkeley, Hastings, and Stanford) legal newspaper; in the top 10 LLM Tax programs in the country by TaxTalent, in the top 20 in the country for practical training by National Jurist, and #11 in the country for diversity by US News & World Report. The professors are all phenomenal and of course it is in San Francisco!!!