THE Tax Law Institute |1717 N Street NW |STE 1|Washington, DC 20036 |+1(202) 800-9230

"Giving Back ... through free legal services"

TAX LAW INSTITUTE Pro Bono | Hawai'i

A Free Tax Clinic serviced by United States Tax Court Practitioners & Tax Attorneys

Volunteer

Free Legal Services|Low-Income Taxpayers

Petitions

Hearings & Trials

Docketed Appeals

If you've received a '90-day letter' it means that the IRS has made a determination that you have a tax deficiency and owe back taxes. If you contact us immediately after you've received the letter then we can advise you as to what to do. Remember, you have fewer than 90-days to respond. The clock starts on the date the 90-day notice is m

If you've received a '90-day letter' it means that the IRS has made a determination that you have a tax deficiency and owe back taxes. If you contact us immediately after you've received the letter then we can advise you as to what to do. Remember, you have fewer than 90-days to respond. The clock starts on the date the 90-day notice is mailed by the IRS.

If you can document how and why you believe the determination is unjust then we may be able to challenge the deficiency determination in the U.S. Tax Court. But first you must provide us with authorization to represent you (POA) and we will provide you with a retainer agreement. There are no charges.

Afterwards, we will prepare and file the petition with the Court clerk. We will represent you when your case is sent to docketed appeals (IRS). We will attempt to reach a settlement with the appeals' officer at the hearing that will follow.

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Docketed Appeals

Hearings & Trials

Docketed Appeals

pWe collect from you all documents that are relevant to your case and that are cited in the notice of (tax) deficiency. Then we conduct our research, evaluate what we discover and transmit the supportive findings that we deem to be evidentiary to the Appeals' attorney who gets assigned to your case.

We will represent you at the impending

pWe collect from you all documents that are relevant to your case and that are cited in the notice of (tax) deficiency. Then we conduct our research, evaluate what we discover and transmit the supportive findings that we deem to be evidentiary to the Appeals' attorney who gets assigned to your case.

We will represent you at the impending hearing before the IRS independent Office of Appeals, where we will attempt to settle your case with the assigned officer. The hearing is your last opportunity to resolve the tax controversy without litigation so it is best if it is attended only by us, your legal representatives. You will be well-briefed afterwards.

If we are unable to reach a settlement, your case will be sent back to the Court. We will then consider the feasibility of proceeding to trial in and before the U.S. Tax Court - all the while, we will continue to seek any opportunity to reach a pre-trial settlement at any point thereafter.

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Hearings & Trials

No one wants to litigate. It is expensive and time-consuming. However, we will represent you in and before the U.S. Tax Court and argue your tax matter, if we deem the facts of your case to be properly documented and warrant a trial.

But we will try, right up to day of trial, as well as during the trial, to reach a settlement. Nevertheles

No one wants to litigate. It is expensive and time-consuming. However, we will represent you in and before the U.S. Tax Court and argue your tax matter, if we deem the facts of your case to be properly documented and warrant a trial.

But we will try, right up to day of trial, as well as during the trial, to reach a settlement. Nevertheless, we will not shy away from a trial if the IRS counsel is unmoved.

Supervised by our Tax Court Litigation Counsel, our team of pro bono student representatives, composed of experienced federally-authorized tax practitioners with various expertise, and United States Tax Court Practitioners, will work diligently to organize the facts of your case and get you ready (to give witness testimony) for your proceedings. We will prepare all trial documents, decide on the best evidence, and aggressively prosecute your case - all at no cost to you, beyond the $60 filing fee that you must pay.

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authorized Reps & Supervising TaX LITIGATION COUNSEL

Authorized Pro Bono Representative, Volunteer & Attorney-Designate

Ludmila 'Mila' Moraru J.D. LL.M.

She studied U.S. Law in Europe and emigrated to the United States to complete her graduate studies in U.S. tax law.
She is a tax resolution specialist.
She passed the 2025 New York State bar examination and is awaiting fitness approval and bar admission.
She lectures at the Tax Law Institute on evidentiary principles and the Federal Rules of Evidence as applied in U.S. Tax Court.

We provide a range of individual tax services, including advocacy, education, compliance, and representation to low-income taxpayers who live on the Hawaiian islands.
Our team of experienced tax practitioners and United States Tax Court Practitioners can help ensure that indigent taxpayers are in compliance with all relevant tax laws and regulations.
We make a best-effort to settle their case in the Appeals Office. In that regard, our Tax Litigation Counsel, CPAs and EAs communicate with Appeal's attorneys to schedule remote hearings and compile documents, which are then forwarded to the respective appeal's officer beforehand to support any request made for settlement and subsequent U.S. Tax Court disposition and approval to dispose of that matter.
Our pro bono student representatives admitted to the Tax Law Institute most often come with considerable experience in working with the IRS Appeals Office. But as Apprentices to Tax Court practice, they learn to see through different lenses as soon-to-be legal practitioners who must go toe-to-toe with an Appeals attorney. If they are unable to settle, then they must go before the Court to make a legal argument on behalf of an indigent client.

Donor Relations Director-Designate, U.S. Tax Court Apprentice & Authorized Pro Bono Representative

Kathryn Franklin, M.Sc. Accounting, M.Sc. Auditing

She is the free tax clinic's interim donor relations director-designate, Montana ranch owner and a specialist in agricultural management.
She is a seasoned mortgage banker with graduate degrees in accounting and auditing and boast a track-record as a very competent construction manager.

IRS Enrolled Agent, Acting Clinic Director & Pro Bono Rep | Admitted to Practice, U.S. Tax Court

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Donor Relations Director-Designate, U.S. Tax Court Apprentice & Authorized Pro Bono Representative

Jeffrey Thompson, E.A. M.A. MBA, USTCP

He is the Team Leader of the pro bono student reps and a small business and entertainment tax specialist.
Recently-admitted as United States Tax Court Practitioner. He is now the Acting Coordinator of the Clinical Program and Acting Clinic Director of the nonprofit we support.
He holds an MBA in marketing and the B.A. and M.A. in psychology and has served as a college professor in Los Angeles, California.

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Through in-person and remote proceedings, our team of experienced tax practitioners and pro bono reps, under the oversight of a tax litigation counsel can help low-income taxpayers develop a comprehensive strategy to settle their docketed case posted to the Tax Court calendar in the Appeals Office or the Honolulu Tax Court.
Working with the free tax clinic we support, our pro bono team will create a plan that meets unique needs of individuals who comport with the IRS low-income guidelines.
Through the free clinic's link to the U.S. Tax Court Clinical, Student Practice and Calendar Call Program, we provide expert guidance in case management and negotiate settlements of docketed cases in the IRS Independent Office of Appeals.
If unsuccessful in reaching settlement, we then pursue the case in the Tax Court to ensure that their tax matter is resolved. We also identify low-cost legal assistance for non-qualifying taxpayers. No one is turned away.
Oversight provided by Michael Jerome Stuart, The John F. Dean Professor of Federal Tax Litigation and U.S. Tax Court Trial Practice.

Chief Tax Litigation Counsel Emeritus & CPA | Admitted to Practice, U.S. Tax Court

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Louis B. Carpenter III CPA, CFA, USTCP

He is an Assistant Professor at the Tax Law Institute at Washington DC and the former registered coordinator of the U.S. Tax Court, Student Practice and Calendar Call Program for the Hawai'i Federal Tax Clinic. To learn more, please visit https://taxlawinstitute.com/pro-bono-program

Of Counsel

Richard Cunha, Esq.

Attorney Cunha serves as an adjunct member of our Teaching Faculty and is Of Counsel to the Tax Law Institute and to the underlying Corporation and its independent affiliates, which he represents. He has been associated with the Tax Law Institute for more than twenty years; and for short periods of time, Attorney Cunha was both a student and a client. He has certified and written recommendation letters to the Office of Admissions, U.S. Tax Court for successful bar candidates and provided mentorships. He has over 30 years of combined legal experience as a tax litigator and civil and criminal tax trial attorney. Attorney Cunha is admitted to practice, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court and is a member of the state bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is an active participant in the volunteer program, Pro Bono Practice | Hawai'i.

OUR FREE SERVICES

Advocacy

We are here to protect you and your rights. As an American worker your income and wages are subject to taxes. Your tax payments are used to support a government that is elected to serve all the people. This includes you.

If you believe that you have been treated unfairly by the IRS then we are here to negotiate on your behalf. Not only will we counsel you, we will also educate you and stand in your defense.

And, if you are deficient in the amount of federal tax that you have paid, and you owe money and simply can't afford to pay then we can usually arrange a payment plan for you with the IRS that won't take a big bite out of your paycheck.

Whatever the federal tax problem, please know that we are here to help. Just call us. We've been negotiating with the Federal government for a very long time, so we can usually find a way to work things out with the IRS.

Taxpayer Education

We educate low income taxpayers about taxpayer rights and responsibilities. We offer free, remote consultations and classes that teach individuals the basics of the IRC so that no one has to fear the IRS.

Our clients are given free access to mini-courses simply by dialing in to a virtual conference room. There, they can speak directly to a tax expert who can answer almost any question they might have about federal tax obligations, regulations and procedures.

For those who work from home or who have a small business such as a landscaping service or some other sources of self-employment income, for example, Uber driver, we offer tips and tax planning advice to help you stay on top of your business. And for the more ambitious, we provide short business management classes with tools to improve your cash flows and to better manage your money. Online federal tax tutorials will post soon and continue each month thereafter.

Legal Services & Representation

We are strictly a federal tax clinic and address only federal tax matters. Through our tax and pro bono legal services, our federally-authorized tax practitioners and tax litigation counsel can resolve tax controversies before the IRS and U.S. Tax Court. Their services are free. But taxpayers pay their own court fees.

So, how would you know that your tax matter may require attention? Usually, you'll receive a notice in the mail from the IRS that tells you that you owe money to the government. The IRS notice is called a "30-day letter".

You must contact us immediately if you get such a letter because we can talk to the IRS appeals office and probably negotiate a settlement. But if you wait too long then our counsel will have to file a "petition" and represent you in Tax Court. This is a process that can be avoided if you get in touch with us as soon as you receive the 30-day letter. Remember, we handle only Federal tax matters. No State of Hawaii tax issues unless they relate to a Federal t ax return.

REMOTE ClASSES AT THE TAX LAW INSTITUTE 2026-2027

Tax Bar Preparation

Federal Tax Litigation

Federal Rules of Evidence Applied by the Tax Court aka Tax Evidence

Federal Tax Procedure

Internal Revenue Code

U.S. Tax Court Rules of Practice & Procedure

Legal Ethics aka ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct

Case Law

Self-Study Tax Law Library

Federal Tax Litigation

Litigation of Federal Civil Tax Controversies

Preparation of Trial Documents for U.S. Tax Court Practice

Legal Writing for United States Tax Court Practitioners

Mock Branerton Conference

Representation Before the U.S. Tax Court

Litigation Strategies for U.S. Tax Court

Student Trial Practice

Federal Tax Litigation

Student Trial Practice

Student Practice | Pro Bono Program | U.S. Tax Court Clinical Program

Hawaii Federal Tax Clinic, Honolulu HI

Sponsored and funded by the Tax Law Institute at Washington DC

Student Pro Bono Program at the TLI

Legal Research provided by Federal Tax Research at the Tax Law Institute

"Giving Back ... through free legal services"

TAX LAW INSTITUTE Pro Bono | Hawai'i

Free Legal Services|Low-Income Taxpayers

Petitions

Hearings & Trials

Docketed Appeals

Docketed Appeals

Hearings & Trials

Docketed Appeals

Hearings & Trials

Hearings & Trials

Hearings & Trials

Pro Bono | Honolulu U.S. Tax Court

authorized Reps & Supervising TaX LITIGATION COUNSEL

Authorized Pro Bono Representative, Volunteer & Attorney-Designate

Donor Relations Director-Designate, U.S. Tax Court Apprentice & Authorized Pro Bono Representative

Donor Relations Director-Designate, U.S. Tax Court Apprentice & Authorized Pro Bono Representative

IRS Enrolled Agent, Acting Clinic Director & Pro Bono Rep | Admitted to Practice, U.S. Tax Court

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Donor Relations Director-Designate, U.S. Tax Court Apprentice & Authorized Pro Bono Representative

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Chief Tax Litigation Counsel Emeritus & CPA | Admitted to Practice, U.S. Tax Court

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Remote & In-Person Pro Bono Representation at U.S. Tax Court Provided by the Tax Litigation Clinic

Of Counsel

Richard Cunha, Esq.

OUR FREE SERVICES

Advocacy

Taxpayer Education

Legal Services & Representation

Legal Services & Representation

2026-2027 Pro Bono Training & Apprenticeship in Trial Practice

REMOTE ClASSES AT THE TAX LAW INSTITUTE 2026-2027

Tax Bar Preparation

Federal Tax Litigation

Federal Tax Litigation

Federal Tax Litigation

Federal Tax Litigation

Federal Tax Litigation

Student Trial Practice

Federal Tax Litigation

Student Trial Practice

Self-Instructive Tax Law Library

Join Our Team | Apply for Admission

To apply call +1.202.800.9230