Earlier this month, Santa Clara Law’s own Professor Patricia “Pat” Cain received the inaugural Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) Tax Section Lifetime Achievement Award!
The award, granted to both Cain and Professor J. Clifton Fleming of Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, celebrates outstanding facilitators of the AALS’ mission of advancing excellence in legal education. At the AALS 2024 Annual Meeting, in Washington, D.C., Cain was recognized for her important work in the field of federal tax policy, feminist legal theory, and LGBTQ advocacy. Praise from the AALS Tax Section includes: “Over nearly 5 decades of dedicated law teaching and scholarship, Professor Cain has been a leading light in critical tax scholarship. One of the standout achievements in Professor Cain’s illustrious career is her unwavering commitment to advancing the rights of LGBTQ taxpayers within the framework of tax law. Professor Cain’s dedication to this cause is evident in her extensive body of work, which includes law review articles, essays, book reviews, and amicus briefs.”
Dean Michael Kaufman commented on her award, “On behalf of the entire Santa Clara Law community, I want to extend our congratulations to Patricia Cain for this incredible honor, rightly recognizing her extraordinary past and ongoing achievements as a transformative scholar, teacher, public servant, and trailblazer.”
Cain began her law teaching career at the University of Texas in 1974 as a faculty member for 17 years. She then joined the law faculty at the University of Iowa, where she held the Aliber Family Chair in Law and later served as Interim Provost of the University and as Vice Provost. She has been a member of the Santa Clara University School of Law faculty since 2007.
