Pieter Weyts - Page 6




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               Petitioner argues that he was similarly situated.  He was a            
          member of the New York State Bar while employed at Kelley Drye              
          and at Davis Polk as a summer associate.  With respect to his               
          work at Davis Polk, however, petitioner earned 3 hours of class             
          credit towards his J.D./M.B.A. degrees for his work at Davis                
          Polk.  Furthermore, the arrangement of being a summer associate             
          is more indicative of an educational pursuit, rather than being             
          engaged in a trade or business of practicing law.  The title is             
          also more indicative of being a law clerk.  Indeed, petitioner              
          testified: “I have always been a full-time student from 1997                
          through 2001”, and he maintained a student visa throughout this             
          period.  Petitioner also failed to establish that his                       
          compensation and assignments were similar to other full-time                
          associates at Kelley Drye and/or Davis Polk.                                
               In sum, we believe that petitioner had an “uninterrupted               
          continuity in his legal education.”  Wassenaar v. Commissioner,             
          supra at 1199; see also Link v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. 460 (1988),           
          affd. without published opinion 869 F.2d 1491 (6th Cir. 1989);              
          Baker v. Commissioner, 51 T.C. 243, 247 (1968).  Between 1997 and           
          2001, petitioner was a full-time student and earned three law               
          degrees.  Petitioner enrolled in each degree program immediately            
          after completion of the preceding one.  Petitioner was not                  
          engaged in a trade or business of being a practicing attorney.              
               Having decided that petitioner does not satisfy the                    






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