Eleanor Wood (’16) Wins Tax Law Writing Award

The Federal Bar Association has announced that Eleanor Wood (’16) is the winner of the 2015 Donald C. Alexander Writing Competition for her article "Rejecting Tax Exceptionalism: Bringing Temporary Treasury Regulations Back in Line with the APA." This marks the second straight year that a Law School student has placed first in the competition; Matthew Hu (’14) was the winner last year. As the winning author, Wood will receive $2,000 and a trip to the FBA Section on Taxation's annual tax law conference, to be held March 5-6 in Washington, D.C. Her article will be considered for publication in the FBA magazine, The Federal Lawyer, or the Section on Taxation's newsletter, Inside Basis.

The Alexander competition is open to any full- or part-time J.D. or LL.M. student who submits an original paper concerning federal taxation. "I am so pleased for Eleanor, and so appreciative of her efforts," said Professor Kristin Hickman, a federal tax expert who advised Wood as she worked on the paper. "Eleanor not only wrote an outstanding article, but she took the time to enter it into the competition. Don Alexander was widely admired by tax attorneys throughout the United States, so Eleanor's achievement means national recognition both for her and for the Law School."

"The paper primarily deals with the interaction between tax and administrative law," said Wood, "arguing that the Supreme Court's rejection of tax exceptionalism in Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research v. United States creates considerable doubt about the enforceability of temporary Treasury Department regulations promulgated in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. It also proposes several judicial and legislative actions that could help bring Treasury back in line with the APA without destabilizing the tax system."

Wood graduated summa cum laude from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., in 2010 and became a Minnesota Certified Public Accountant in 2011. Before enrolling at the Law School, she worked as a tax senior associate with the international accounting firm Grant Thornton. She is a staff member of the Minnesota Law Review and has served as a law clerk at the Scudder Law Firm in Lincoln, Neb.