Block, Cheryl D.

English

Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law

Buffalo Law Review Volume 55 Number 1 Article 10 5-1-2007 Remembering Louis Del Cotto Cheryl D. Block George Washington University Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview  Part of the Legal Education Commons Recommended Citation Cheryl D. Block, Remembering Louis Del Cotto, 55 Buff. L. Rev. 391 (2007). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol55/iss1/10 This Tribute is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Buffalo Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact lawscholar@buffalo.edu. Remembering Louis Del CottoCHERYL D. BLOCK-Had it not been required when I attended the lawschool at SUNY at Buffalo, I am quite certain that I wouldnever have taken even the introductory course in FederalIncome Taxation, let alone any more advanced tax classes. Iwas, and continue to be, terrible at and frightened of mathand never took a course in accounting. As a political sciencemajor in undergraduate school, I began law school thinkingthat my career would take me to some area of governmentor public interest law--civil rights, employmentdiscrimination, environmental protection. As I have sincelearned, life's bumpy road often takes unexpected twistsand turns along the way. As a tenured member of the lawfaculty at the George Washington University Law School, Ihave now been teaching federal tax courses for just overtwenty years. I attribute much of what and where I amprofessionally today to Professor Louis Del Cotto.When I began in 1976, I was unaware that the lawschool was privileged to have an extraordinary and well-known tax faculty. Unlike most undergraduate andgraduate school programs, law schools generally do nothave "departments" as such. At Buffalo, on the other hand,Professor Del Cotto was an essential part of anextraordinary team of tax professors who truly workedtogether to ensure that one course fit seamlessly intoanother.1 Professor Del Cotto was primarily responsible fordeveloping that curriculum. It was clear to all of us thatProfessors Del Cotto and Kenneth Joyce were partners bothas teachers and scholars, co-authoring many well regardedand much-cited academic articles. The scholarly work thatProfessor Del Cotto did, both separately and collaboratively,t Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School; J.D., StateUniversity of New York at Buffalo, School of Law (1979).1. I did not have the privilege of taking tax courses with Professors BillGreiner and Al Mugel, who were also an integral part of the tax team.BUFFALO LAW REVIEWclearly enriched what he did in the classroom. He broughtwith him a passion for the subject and an ongoing deepintellectual curiosity.Students in the tax program at Buffalo were quicklydisabused of the notion that tax law was about beady-eyednumber crunching and accounting. Indeed, both ProfessorsDel Cotto and Joyce made it clear that tax law is aboutsomething much bigger. As the Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr.quote that graces the entrance to the Internal RevenueService building in Washington, D.C. reminds us, "Taxesare what we pay for civilized society." Although we surelystudied the details of many tax statutes and cases, we alsocame to understand that tax law has an impact on virtuallyevery aspect of life and public policy. Without losing sight ofpractical applications, students learned in tax class to lookat statutes and cases in light of their larger economic, fiscal,and societal impact. Although I now also teach cases andstatutes, I realize that I am not so far from my originalinterests. Our tax laws address vital issues aboutdistributive justice, poverty, welfare, protecting theenvironment, decreasing the federal deficit and much more.I am not sure that I would have appreciated all of thiswithout Professor Del Cotto's guidance.In addition to opening my eyes to the big picture,Professor Del Cotto also provided a role model for myapproach to teaching and to my students. Professor DelCotto used what might be referred to as a "modified"Socratic method very effectively. As I tell my studentstoday, student mistakes in working through problems andcases can often be more pedagogically useful than correctanswers. If one student misunderstands something, chancesare that others do as well. Often the incorrect answerreflects an alternative way that Congress might havewritten the statute. Such "mistakes" can serve as a usefulopportunity to discuss the larger policy issues at stake.Professor Del Cotto was challenging but notintimidating in the classroom-at least he never meant tobe intimidating. I must admit to being terrified when hecalled on me in Corporate Tax. This was entirely due to theoverwhelming complexity of the subject matter, however.Professor Del Cotto was always gentle and patient withstudents who were as confused by the material as I was. Iwas also terrified by the final examination-with goodreason, as it turns out. Corporate Tax was actually my[Vol. 5 5392TRIBUTE TO LOUIS DEL COTTOlowest grade in law school. I now attribute this to simplepanic. I must have learned something. Who would havethought that I would not only be teaching the course today,but that I would have published a major treatise on thesubject? I could not have achieved the successes that I havewithout the formidable foundation that Professor Del Cottoprovided me.I do not recall reading Professor Del Cotto's scholarlyarticles as a law student. As I began in the teachingprofession, however, I came across his work all the time. Hewas a prolific scholar. The breadth and scope of his workwas vast, covering a broad range of issues in tax policy andadministration. Here again, Professor Del Cotto, along withProfessor Joyce, was an incredible role model who set thebar extremely high. I am extremely grateful for hisgenerosity in taking the time to read and comment on earlydrafts of my academic work.I know that I am not alone in my tremendous affectionand respect for Professor Del Cotto. As a testament to hisextraordinary influence as a teacher, several formerstudents recently joined to endow the Louis A. Del CottoFund for Excellence in Tax and Tax Related Studies. Thefunds will be used to provide support for scholarships tostudents interested in taxation, faculty research in the taxfield, and to bring distinguished speakers to the law school.I am confident that this is exactly how he would have likedthe funds to be used. I feel honored and privileged to havehad Professor Del Cotto in my life. He will be sorely missedby all who knew him, but his legacy lives on.20071 393

Remembering Louis Del Cotto

https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&amp;context=buffalolawreview

Remembering Louis Del Cotto

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law