Newton, MA—Boston College Law School is pleased to announce that third-year student Anna Tavis has been named a 2011-2013 American Bar Association Section of Taxation Public Service Fellow The fellowship recognizes qualified students who are devoted to providing tax legal assistance to the underserved, and provides the fellow with an unrestricted grant to cover various expenses. Tavis was one out of only two applicants to be chosen for the fellowship.

Tavis is “an inspiration to those of us in the profession,” says Charles H. Egerton, Chair of the ABA Section of Taxation, in a recent release. “We know that [her] work will be extremely helpful in addressing some of the unmet needs of low-income taxpayers who have little or no access to tax legal assistance.”

After graduating magna cum laude from NYU, Tavis worked at the Urban Justice center as a legal advocate in the Homelessness Outreach and Prevention Project. In her spare time, she volunteered at the legal Aid Society’s Homeless Rights Project and the Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project.

At BC Law, Anna served on the BC Law Pro Bono Program Board of Directors and spent her spring break at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center doing domestic violence work. She has also interned in the elderly unit at Greater Boston Legal Services. In recognition of her efforts, she was awarded the BC Law Public Service Scholarship in 2008.

Fluent in both Spanish and Russian, Tavis will be working for two years on tax-related public service at the South Brooklyn Legal Services in Brooklyn, N.Y., under the Immigrant Workers’ Tax Advocacy Project, to provide community education, outreach, and representation to low-income immigrants. Tavis’s work will be especially useful in providing culturally sensitive legal services to the substantial Russian-speaking population, a group that has been difficult to reach in the past.

The ABA Section of Taxation Public Service Fellowships were created in 2008 to address the need for tax legal assistance, and to foster an interest in tax-related public service among those who participate. The goal of the ABA Section of Taxation is to help taxpayers better understand their rights and obligations under the tax laws and working to achieve and efficient and equitable tax system. It provides a number of awards and fellowships for young lawyers, encouraging them to pursue careers in public service. For more information, you can go to their website at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/taxation.html.