Michael Doran

  • Professor of Law

Michael Doran teaches tax, property, employee benefits law, trusts and estates, Native American law and Roman law. His scholarship examines issues and problems in tax policy, retirement policy, executive compensation, the legislative process and federal Indian law. Before he began teaching in 2005, Doran was a partner at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C., practicing in tax, employee benefits and executive compensation. He served twice in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, with responsibilities for legislative and regulatory matters concerning employer-sponsored retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, executive compensation and Social Security reform. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and he is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia. 

Education

  • J.D.
    Yale Law School
    1991
  • B.A.
    Wesleyan University
    1988

Works in Progress

Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance (2023).
The Great American Retirement Fraud (2021).

Articles & Reviews

Retirement Distributions During the Public-Health Crisis, 167 Tax Notes Federal 1713–1717 (2020).
Deferred Compensation Unbound, 167 Tax Notes Federal 1589–1596 (2020).
Redefining Tribal Sovereignty for the Era of Fundamental Rights, 95 Indiana Law Journal 87–144 (2020).
The Equal-Protection Challenge to Federal Indian Law, 6 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law & Public Affairs 1–74 (2020).
The False Promise of Portman-Cardin Pension Reform, 163 Tax Notes 1673–1680 (2019).
Legislative Entrenchment and Federal Fiscal Policy, 81 Law & Contemporary Problems 27–59 (2018).
Deferred Compensation and Comprehensive Tax Reform, 156 Tax Notes 1241–1246 (2017).
The Puzzle of Nonqualified Retirement Pay, 70 Tax Law Review 181–242 (2017).
Uncapping Executive Pay, 90 Southern California Law Review 815–878 (2017).
Tax Legislation in the Contemporary U.S. Congress, 67 Tax Law Review 555–611 (2014).
Legislative Organization and Administrative Redundancy, 91 Boston University Law Review 1815–1872 (2011).
The Closed Rule, 59 Emory Law Journal 1363–1454 (2010).
Managers, Shareholders, and the Corporate Double Tax, 95 Virginia Law Review 517–595 (2009).
Tax Penalties and Tax Compliance, 46 Harvard Journal on Legislation 111–161 (2009).
Intergenerational Equity in Fiscal Policy Reform, 61 Tax Law Review 241–293 (2008).
Time to Start over on Deferred Compensation, 28 Virginia Law Review 223–235 (2008).
Legislative Compromise and Tax Transition Policy, 74 University of Chicago Law Review 545–600 (2007).
Executive Compensation Reform and the Limits of Tax Policy, Tax Policy Center Discussion Paper No. 18 (2004).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

Executive Compensation, Corporate Governance, and Tax Policy Oxford Business Law Blog (2022).

Current Courses

No courses were found for this instructor.

All Courses

Federal Income Tax
Property
Employee Benefits Law
Native American Law
Trusts and Estates
Roman Law
Barbarian Law

Featured Scholarship