By
Daniel I. Dorfman
With the revolution in health-care law, a pair of young students are pursuing an education destined to make them hot commodities in the legal field.
Ashley E. Hayes and Cam Moultrie are pursuing an LLM degree at The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employment Benefits.
"From income to death, and everything in between," said Hayes, a native of Austin, Texas, who earned her bachelor's degree at Baylor University and her law degree from John Marshall. "I liked the issues that are presented by tax questions and how they affect every aspect of life."
At first glance, deciding to focus on a career in the field of employee benefits while still in law school may seem unconventional. But these days employee benefits may be the springboard a young attorney needs.
Students like Hayes and Moultrie find themselves fascinated with the evolving patchwork of laws, as they pursue interests inside and outside the classroom.
Constant change
In conjunction with her law school studies, Hayes took a position with an estate-planning law firm. Not wanting to be left behind on the issues at her new office, Hayes enrolled in a class at John Marshall focusing on taxation of gifts and trusts. She became intrigued with the world of taxes and employee benefits.
"I found I had a knack for understanding the Internal Revenue Code and how it was set up," said Hayes, who won a scholarship to John Marshall.
She opted to pursue an LLM and choosing John Marshall to get that degree was simple: it's the only school to offer one.
While taking the courses, Hayes realized that in her field, the law was constantly changing on the local, state and especially federal level. A law that passes in Congress in one session may have a sunset provision and be obsolete the next year. With the health-care overhaul and the aging of the Baby Boomers putting more pressure on changes in employee benefit packages, Hayes contends this type of law is an exciting place to be right now.
"The field is going to be going through a complete overhaul over the next couple of years," she said. "I think that says a lot about the employee-benefits practice itself. It is only 30 to 40 years old. The fact that it is going through so much change says a lot about where the field has been and where it is going."
Besides taking the courses to earn her LLM, Hayes is working as a teaching assistant at John Marshall and will edit the Employee and Tax Benefits newsletter starting this fall. She also participates in the school's Voluntary Income Tax Assistance Program, which provides low-income citizens with free help in preparing their income tax return.
After receiving her LLM, Hayes is looking for an opportunity to get involved with a tax agency such as the Illinois Department of Revenue or the IRS and then to one day go into the private sector.
Comparing herself to her fiancé, who works in the Cook County state's attorney's office, Hayes said the differences suit their personalities and interests.
"There are different areas of law that are suited to different people and different personalities," she said.
"He is very comfortable talking in front of other people. Talking to other people is not second nature to me and it is easier for me to be behind the scenes."
Capitalizing on experience
Moultrie earned her undergraduate degree from Brown and her law degree from Georgetown. In her first few years in practice, she found herself attracted to the world of employee benefits.
"I think it is a very interesting area of the law," she said. "It is very current, and it definitely leads to creativity as you are learning the ins and outs of the law."
Moultrie hopes to graduate in January from John Marshall with her LLM and is attempting to take advantage of her time away from the classroom to get herself further acclimated.
This summer, Moultrie is completing an externship at the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department.
"I've been sitting in on a lot of discussions on policy issues, and I have been able to sit in on inter-agency working group meetings, so I am getting first-hand experience on the regulatory process," she said. "I'm learning a lot about drafting and direction of health-care policy. Hopefully I'll be able to leverage this experience where I can enter a career so I can learn more about employee benefits."
It is just the latest in a string of extracurricular experiences for Moultrie, who previously served as the editor of the tax benefit newsletter and was the 2009-2010 student liaison to the ABA tax section employee benefits subcommittee. She has also served as a research assistant to Kathryn Jennings Kennedy, John Marshall's associate dean for advanced studies and research and the director of the school's Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits.
With the job market tight, Moultrie remains hopeful that gaining as much experience in what may be perceived as a niche area will give her resume the highlights that impress a prospective employer.
"I've learned a lot about qualified plans, as well as executive compensation and health care," she said. "Hopefully I'll be at a better starting point than someone who hasn't that background."
An obscure area produces results
That Hayes and Moultrie are getting their feet wet in the field is not an accident.
"It is what we encourage students to do," said Barry A. Kozak, John Marshall's associate director for the graduate employee benefits program. "A lot of our students have full-time jobs, and they can only focus on the classroom and their education. But we are encouraging the students who can participate in other activities to do so to help them network and become more marketable."
If students can learn the nuances of the employee benefits world, that should distinguish them from the next graduate.
"Even when the economy was good and students could get jobs, I was always telling [people] if you don't choose your specialty, whoever employs you will," Kozak said. "So if you take an LLM class and you specialize, you can create your own future."
What Kennedy and Kozak emphasize to students is that employee benefits and taxes is not the type of law that can be downplayed by employers and is one that will always require some staffing.
"Even with a bad economy, if an employer is still changing the health benefits, you need an attorney to do the work," Kozak said.
He notes that McDermott Will & Emery recently hired one LLM degree holder. In previous times, several other graduates have landed at such firms as Seyfarth Shaw and Kirkland & Ellis.
Looking to the future
In spring 2010, to make the program more accessible to students worldwide, John Marshall started all six required courses online. Kozak envisions a day when students who have already finished the mandatory classes can come to Chicago to take electives over the course of one academic semester and receive their degree.
Kozak is surprised that John Marshall remains the only school to offer an LLM in this area, which, he says, is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it would be nice to have someone else to consult with, but it is a solid marketing item for recruiting students.
With many people facing serious financial challenges due to misunderstandings of their employer's benefits, Kozak notes this is a prime field for the idealistic law school student.
"If you could affect more people by having an employer do the right thing and promise the right health benefits so there aren't lawsuits, then you are touching the lives of so many people," he said. "You come to law school thinking you want to do good for society; this is one way to do good for society."