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Training & Duties

Duties

The Tribunal Law Clerk Program offers law school students the opportunity to work with Tribunal Members in almost every area of Michigan's tax laws. Law clerks will perform legal research, review and summarize documentary evidence and testimony, populate small claims file templates, research and prepare orders, write memoranda of law, assist Tribunal Members in hearings, and draft final decisions.

Training

At the beginning of the semester, or as needed, all students will receive instruction on a range of topics that include: the history and jurisdiction of the Tribunal, Michigan's system of property taxation, the calculation of taxable value, the calculation of special assessments, requirements of common property tax exemptions, the methods of valuation, evidentiary issues, discussion of important cases, tribunal rules of procedure and practice, tribunal decisional formats, appellate standards, methods of statutory construction, etc. Further, law clerks will also be trained, on an individual basis, on the various legal duties they will perform throughout their clerkship.