LSU Law Class of 2023 graduate Stephen D. Cox with his wife, Anna, and their dogs.
LSU Law Class of 2023 graduate Stephen D. Cox has been awarded the Professor Susan Kalinka Memorial Endowed Scholarship/LLM Tax Award, which will help fund his studies as he pursues his Tax LLM at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Established in 2009 in memory of the late LSU Law Professor Susan Kalinka, who taught courses in tax law, real estate law, and policy topics, the scholarship was created by friends, family, colleagues, and students, and endowed by her husband, David. Recipients must be third-year law students who have been accepted and are enrolled in an LLM Tax program following their graduation from LSU Law.
Cox used five words to describe his immediate reaction to being informed that he’d been selected for the Kalinka Memorial Scholarship.
“Ecstatic. Grateful. Honored. Happy. Relieved,” said the Bossier City native, who added the wide variety of career opportunities available in tax law propelled him to pursue his LLM. “There’s not a lot of practitioners out there who do tax law or specialize in tax law, so that was something that really drew me to it. You can be kind of a full-service practitioner. I’ve always had to fund all of my education, so to finally get rewarded for some of my academic achievements was very nice—every little bit helps.”
Along with graduating magna cum laude, Cox was among the first 20 LSU Law students to earn the new Graduate Certificate in Estate Planning and Taxation, which recognizes those who have demonstrated substantial proficiency in the study of wills, trusts, estates, taxation, and related subject matter. The certificate program aims to signal to employers that graduates have in-depth knowledge of estate planning and taxation and guide students in their course selection, said LSU Law Estate Planning and Taxation Professor Elizabeth Carter.
“Stephen is an amazing student and is so deserving of this award,” Carter said. “Among other things, I coached him on the Stutes-Kalinka National Tax Moot Court Competition Team, and he was a great competitor who worked extremely hard. He also worked with the Louisiana Law Review to organize a cutting-edge tax law symposium, and has been very interested and passionate about tax law since he started at the Law Center.”
The “Let’s Get Fiscal: Contemporary Considerations in Taxation and the Law” symposium was presented in February, and it featured a panel of tax professionals discussing tax law and policy issues. Cox and Fallon Voltolina, who both served as article editors of Louisiana Law Review, organized the symposium, which brought scholars with national and international tax expertise to the Law Center. During his time at LSU Law, Cox was also a member of the Tax Law Society, Real Estate and Property Law Society, and Federalist Society. Prior to attending LSU Law, Cox earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from Louisiana Tech University.
“The professors, course offerings, and students at LSU Law are to blame for all the success I had during my law school career and the reasons I am pursuing my Tax LLM next year at Southern Methodist University,” said Cox, adding he hopes to return to Shreveport to practice law and possibly start a long-term care business after he earns his LLM. “LSU Law has given me the knowledge to make my aspirations a reality.”
