Press Release
American Bar Association Section of Taxation Announces Tax Analysts Public Service Fellow
December 4, 2023
Tax Analysts, along with the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, is proud to announce that Leslie McLean is the recipient of the second Tax Analysts Public Service Fellowship. Now in its second year, the Fellowship offers practicing tax attorneys the opportunity to work in public interest tax law with a public interest nonprofit organization or government entity (the sponsoring organization). McLean’s sponsoring organization will be DNA People’s Legal Services, which serves northwest Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. DNA also serves all of Coconino County in north central Arizona and the portions of Navajo and Apache counties that include the Navajo and Hopi nations along with other tribal nations.
McLean has 25 years of experience working with public service organizations and has previously worked with DNA’s Low-Income Taxpayer Program, which ceased operations in 2016. The primary focus of her fellowship will be rebuilding the LITC Program, training litigators to represent clients with tax controversies, and creating a sustainable model and succession plan to ensure the future of the program.
“We are thrilled to have Leslie serve as the second Tax Analysts Public Service Fellow. Everything we do at Tax Analysts is viewed through the lens of our mission to educate taxpayers, policymakers, and tax practitioners, to foster a debate on tax policy, and to increase transparency in tax policy,” said President and CEO Cara Griffith. “Leslie’s background working with DNA People’s Legal Services and the tribal nations in their service area gives her a unique perspective on the challenges DNA’s clients face, and the need to build a long-term plan to maintain operations.”
“The ABA Tax Section is excited that Leslie accepted this unique Fellowship. It is designed to attract more experienced attorneys to a career in tax-related public service,” said Scott D. Michel, chair of the Tax Section. “The complexity of the tax laws, increased use of the tax system to deliver social services, and underfunded and heavily burdened taxing authorities make representation of vulnerable taxpayers more important than ever. Leslie’s role will contribute to equal access to tax justice, particularly in those tribal communities where it is needed most. The Section is grateful for the incredible contribution of Tax Analysts in support of this Fellowship.”
For more information about the Tax Analysts Public Service Fellowship and to apply, visit the fellowship page. Future applicants for the fellowship will be expected to identify and secure a position with a sponsoring organization before applying.
To speak with someone at the ABA Tax Section, please contact Meg Newman at megan.newman@americanbar.org. To speak with someone at Tax Analysts, please contact Lisa Samuels at lisa.samuels@taxanalysts.org or 703-533-4407.
About Tax Analysts
Tax Analysts is the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that publishes the Tax Notes portfolio of products, the leading multimedia source of breaking news, in-depth analysis, and insightful commentary on tax administration and policy. Founded in 1970, Tax Analysts has the industry’s largest tax-dedicated correspondent staff, with more than 250 domestic and international correspondents. Tax Analysts provides essential tax news and analysis daily for more than 150,000 tax professionals in law and accounting firms, corporations, government agencies, and academic institutions worldwide. Key products include Tax Notes Federal, Tax Notes Today Federal, Tax Notes State, Tax Notes Today State, Tax Notes International, Tax Notes Today International, and Tax Notes Today Global.