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When Mizzou Law professor David Gamage moved from Indiana University to the University of Missouri in January 2024, he knew he wanted to engage his students not just in traditional lecture-style classroom learning but also in applied discussions about real-world legal issues.
“It’s beneficial for students to see cutting-edge research on applied topics and engage with that research and expertise in dialogue with a variety of leading law professors around the nation,” he said. “Colloquium style instruction is not a replacement for lecture-style courses, but brings law and application to life in a way for students to engage in it as a supplement to their lecture-style courses.”
After a successful semester-long Health Law colloquium-style course, Gamage will, for the first time at Mizzou Law, teach a colloquium course about tax law and policy, featuring 14 papers presented by prominent tax law professors from across the nation. Students will discuss the research before hearing from the papers’ authors.
Gamage said he hopes that students walk away from the class with a better understanding of the current state of tax law and where it’s going. Those skills will benefit students regardless of their practice area, he said.
“Tax law affects almost every area of law and all aspects of the US economy. Only a minority of the Mizzou law students will become tax lawyers, but almost all Mizzou Law students need some understanding of tax law, or else they are going to run into problems when it comes to advising their clients or whatever else they will be doing in legal practice,” he said.
The course will also provide faculty members an opportunity to present and discuss their research and get feedback from students and from Professor Gamage.
“It’s a great way to encourage and improve scholarly exchange, and for me, it’s a good way to combine all of that in a classroom setting and bring students into the intellectual enterprise of analyzing law and legal developments,” he said.
Sessions will also be open to faculty, community members, and students not enrolled in the course, though enrollees will be given priority during question-and-answer sessions.