1. Law Students Compete at International Tax Competition

Law Students Compete at International Tax Competition The students traveled to Montreal in August for an event hosted by the Tax Executives Institute.

By Law Communications
September 22, 2025

Four members of the Law Class of 2026, Symone Gibbs, Sage Mehindru, Lilian Sampson, and Chloe Sin, represented W&L on the global stage in August by competing in the Third Annual International Tax Student Case competition in Montreal, Canada. The event was hosted by the Tax Executives Institute and sponsored by IFA Canada, a non-governmental organization involved in fiscal matters.

Symone Gibbs '26L learned about the competition through a tax mentorship with the firm Baker McKenzie and invited the other students to form a team to participate. They received access to a library of international tax training resources before the competition. Over the summer, the W&L Law students completed months of modules on cross-border business activities, tax treaties, and double taxation, which earned them the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) Certificate of Professional Training in Tax Treaty Aspects of Corporate International Tax Structuring. The team was paired with tax professionals Julia Lagun (Comerica Bank) and Stephen Dunphy (Ross Stores), who helped them use the modules to structure their final project.

During the competition, the students were presented with a hypothetical fact pattern raising an international tax question and had three hours to prepare their presentation to a panel of distinguished judges simulating a corporate board of directors.

"Tackling the prompt together was both challenging and rewarding," said Gibbs. "We blended our perspectives, pushed each other to think critically about complex tax issues, and came away with a stronger grasp of tax law."

Lilian Sampson '26L appreciated the opportunity to meet tax professionals from around the world and broaden her knowledge of cutting-edge issues impacting tax law.

"For many of us, this was our first time in Canada, and the competition director set up events that allowed us to explore the area and network with people from across the globe," said Sampson. "One event focused on the use of AI in tax-where speakers discussed methods for making AI more effective-and introduced us to tools like Catala for coding tax law and the AI tax platform NotebookLM. The knowledge and tools we gained will be a great benefit to us in the future."

The students received financial support for the competition from the W&L Center for International Education and the Transnational Law Institute.