Alumni Spotlight: Marie-Thérèse Mansfield '08
Tax Consultant, True Partners Consulting LLC (Chicago Office)
“When I grow up, I want to be a tax consultant!” I don’t think anyone has ever actually uttered those words. I know I didn’t. In fact, before starting at True Partners Consulting, just the thought of anything tax-related scared me. Now, I can say that I truly enjoy my job as a tax consultant, and I am continuing to put my legal skills to work.
Perhaps because my path to Notre Dame Law School took a somewhat non-traditional route, I wasn’t surprised that I ended up in a non-traditional legal job after graduation. I graduated Notre Dame in 2002 with a degree in psychology. After that, I fully intended to pursue a doctorate in psychology, then a career in academia. However, during the three years I spent at Tulane University gaining my Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, I realized several things: I was unhappy; I really missed Notre Dame; and maybe attending law school at Notre Dame might be the change I needed.
It was. I truly loved my time at NDLS. I made it my mission to become involved in the NDLS community (serving as SBA Secretary and Vice President, Executive Articles Editor for the Journal of College and University Law, Admissions Office Volunteer), the undergraduate community (Assistant Rector in Howard Hall), and even in the South Bend community (working part-time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office). I also decided to remain open-minded for future career possibilities I had not yet considered.
When True Partners Consulting, a tax consulting firm, came to NDLS during the fall of 2007, I went to the interview mainly out of curiosity. Even though I did not have an accounting or tax background, I was told that True Partners was interested in hiring good individuals with diverse backgrounds. I was very impressed by the people at True Partners Consulting. Not only were they all extremely intelligent, but they were genuinely interested in me as an individual. Being a part of True Partners Consulting seemed like a much better fit for me than working at a huge law firm.
Even though I am a tax consultant who happens to be an attorney (and not a tax attorney), I am able to use my NDLS education and legal skills on a daily basis. In addition to researching the tax code and regulations, I have had the opportunity to explore legislative histories and statutory interpretation. I have also assisted with writing and Bluebooking tax appeals to the Departments of Revenue for different states. Although my journey from psychology to law school to tax consulting did not follow the most direct path, I learned a great deal at each point along the way and I am very happy to be where I am now.
