The LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center has been selected to join a national network of legal service providers supported by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Advocate Service to help low-income taxpayers resolve disputes with the IRS, LSU Law Dean Alena M. Allen announced today.
“We have been in discussions with the IRS since my arrival at LSU Law in the summer of 2023 and we are extremely proud to have been chosen to host this important clinic, which will provide our students with real-world legal experience as they help underserved members of our community resolve their outstanding tax issues,” Allen said.
Allen has appointed Professor Cherish van Mullem as director of the LSU Law Low Income Tax Clinic (LITC). van Mullem is an LSU Law Class of 1998 alumna who has served as an adjunct faculty member at her alma mater since 2019. After graduating from LSU Law, she earned a Master of Laws in Tax from the New York University School of Law in 1999 and has since worked as a tax practitioner at the IRS and several prestigious Louisiana law and accounting firms.
LSU Law secured a nearly $100,000 grant from the IRS to launch the clinic, with the potential for a $200,000 grant renewal next fiscal year. Beginning in the fall semester, the LSU Law LITC will enroll upwards of eight second- and third-year LSU Law students who will represent clients under van Mullem’s supervision. The students will earn credit for their participation in the clinic while helping clients resolve their disputes with the IRS.
The clinic is accepting applications from prospective clients at law.lsu.edu/forms/litc.
Applying is the first step in accessing free assistance from the clinic. The LITC will conduct consultations with eligible applicants in the coming weeks and those who are selected as clients will need to sign a representation agreement with the clinic.
To increase clinic capacity, LSU Law will develop a tax-specific pro bono panel—a group of volunteer attorneys who will handle cases and mentor students. Bar-sponsored pro bono panels have been part of the professional landscape for more than 30 years in Louisiana, but this will be the first organized by LSU Law.
