Donald Tobin

Dean and Professor of Law

Phone: (410) 706-2041 Fax: (410) 706-4045 Email: dtobin@law.umaryland.edu Office: 260

BA, 1989, Duke University
JD, magna cum laude, 1996, Georgetown University Law Center

Current Courses: Law and Leadership, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

Biography

Donald B. Tobin has been dean and professor of law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law since 2014. Under his leadership, Maryland Carey Law has built upon its distinguished history integrating theory and practice, giving back to the community, and training the next generation of excellent lawyers and leaders.

A Maryland native, Tobin began his career on Capitol Hill as a professional staff member for U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes (D.-MD), the Senate Committee on the Budget, and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Later, he served as a law clerk for The Honorable Francis Murnaghan, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and as an appellate attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Justice Department. Prior to his deanship at Maryland Carey Law, Tobin was professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs and associate dean for faculty at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

One of the country’s leading experts on the intersection of tax and campaign finance laws, Dean Tobin’s work has helped shape policy on a national level. His scholarship on the use of the tax code to regulate campaign financing has been featured in such publications as First Amendment Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal and Georgia Law Review. He is also co-author, with Samuel A. Donaldson, of Federal Income Taxation: A Contemporary Approach, an interactive casebook. Tobin has testified before the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight.

At Maryland Carey Law, Dean Tobin is committed to fostering a supportive community that provides personalized learning experiences empowering students to realize countless possible career pathways. Passionate about mentorship, he strives to connect directly with students, teaching the popular Lawyers as Leaders class and putting his tax knowledge and Maryland Bar membership to use by working with students in the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.

Tobin brings that same personal attention to the law school’s relationships among its many constituents, the bar, and the surrounding community. He visits numerous Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area law firms of all sizes each year and persistently seeks out occasions to engage with alumni. In the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death, Tobin led efforts to expand Maryland Carey Law’s positive impact in the community, bolstering channels to local volunteer opportunities and providing forums for students and faculty to explore the root causes of Baltimore’s unrest and possible solutions.

Tobin received the Influential Marylanders Award (2017) and the Leadership in Law Award (2015) from The Daily Record.

Publications

Books

Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach (3d ed. 2018) (with Samuel Donaldson). [Abstract]

Principles of Federal Income Taxation (8th ed. 2017) (with Samuel Donaldson). [Abstract]

Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach (2d ed. 2014) (with Samuel Donaldson). [Abstract]

Problems in Tax Ethics (2009) (with Richard Lavoie and Richard E. Trogolo). [Abstract]

Principles of Federal Income Taxation (7th ed. 2005) (with Daniel Q. Posin Jr.). [Abstract]

Articles

Citizens United and Taxable Entities: Will Taxable Entities be the New Stealth Dark Money Campaign Organizations?, 49 Valparaiso University Law Review 583 (2015). [Full Text]

The Internal Revenue Service and a Crisis of Confidence: A New Regulatory Approach for a New Era, 16 Florida Tax Review 429 (2014). [Full Text]

The 2013 IRS Crisis: Where Do We Go From Here?, 142 Tax Notes 1120 (2014). [Full Text]

Campaign Disclosure and Tax-Exempt Entities: A Quick Repair to the Regulatory Plumbing, 10 Election Law Journal 427 (2011). [Full Text]

Congress Should Not Lower the Standard for Tax Return Preparers, 120 Tax Notes 471 (2008). [Full Text]

Political Advocacy and Taxable Entities: Are They the Next "Loophole"?, 6 First Amendment Law Review 41 (2007). [Full Text]

Political Campaigning by Churches and Charities: Hazardous for 501(c)(3)s, Dangerous for Democracy, 95 Georgetown Law Journal 1313 (2007). [Full Text]

Taxpayer Standing and DaimlerChrysler v. Cuno: Where Do We Go from Here?, 110 Tax Notes 863 (2006) (with Kristin Hickman). [Full Text]

Investing in Our Children: A Not So Radical Proposal, 73 University of Cincinnati Law Review 457 (2004). [Full Text]

Regulate, Don't Eliminate, 527s, 46 The Exempt Organization Tax Review 31 (2004) (with Edward B. Foley). [Full Text]

Tax Code Section 527 Groups Not an End-Run Around McCain-Feingold, 72 U.S. Law Week 2403 (2004) (with Edward B. Foley). [Full Text]

Anonymous Speech and Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, 37 Georgia Law Review 611 (2003). [Full Text]

Campaign Finance Disclosure and Section 527 of the Code: A Look at the District Court's Opinion in National Federation of Republican Assemblies, 38 The Exempt Organization Tax Review 43 (2002), reprinted in 97 Tax Notes 407 (2002). [Full Text]

Less Is More: A Move Toward Sanity in the Budget Process, 16 Saint Louis University Public Law Review 115 (1996). [Full Text]

The Balanced Budget Amendment: Will Judges Become Accountants? A Look at State Experiences, 12 Journal of Law & Politics 153 (1996). [Full Text]

Note, The Tax Court Revisits the Golsen Rule: Lardas v. Commissioner, 47 Tax Lawyer 559 (1994). [Full Text]

Donald Tobin

Dean and Professor of Law

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