The Committee on Tax Exempt Financing addresses numerous issues pertaining to the federal exclusion from gross income of interest on state and local bonds. As Committee Chair, Mr. Spector will guide the Committee’s activities, including identifying and engaging in opportunities affecting the development and administration of tax laws, conducting continuing legal education programs and recruiting successors for the Committee’s leadership positions.

At Mintz Levin, Mr. Spector counsels clients in virtually all areas of public finance tax law and leads the Tax Exempt Bond Controversy Resolution Practice. Outside of his practice, Mr. Spector is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel (ACTC) and the American College of Bond Counsel (ACBC). Fellows of the ACTC are chosen for their high standard of excellence and ethical performance in the practice of tax law and for demonstrating an exceptional degree of professional commitment to their practice. The ACBC recognizes lawyers who have established reputations among their peers for their skill, experience and high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice of bond law.

Mr. Spector previously served as Vice Chair of the ABA’s Tax Exempt Finance Committee. He has served on its Subcommittee on Important Tax Developments and has authored articles published annually in The Tax Lawyer from 1999 to 2006 concerning major public finance tax law developments. Mr. Spector also served as the third ever tax columnist for the National Association of Bond Lawyers quarterly journal, The Bond Lawyer.

Mr. Spector holds a Master of Law degree in Taxation from New York University School of Law, a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a Master of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance from the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. Mr. Spector graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, cum laude with Honors, from Brandeis University and maintains his accreditation as a Certified Public Accountant.

Mintz Levin is an AmLaw 100 law firm with offices in the US and the UK. [/private]

Wilkins will serve a one-year term, to be succeeded by Karen L. Hawkins of the
Oakland, Calif., firm Taggart & Hawkins, who was chosen to serve as chair-elect.
Wilkins, who previously served as the ABA Tax Section’s chair-elect, works in
WilmerHale’s tax group, advising clients on tax aspects of business transactions
and counseling nonprofits on tax and governance issues. Wilkins has represented clients before Congress, the Internal Revenue Service and Department of the Treasury on a variety of matters.

Prior to joining WilmerHale, Wilkins served on the staff of the U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance (1981-1998), including as staff director and chief counsel of the committee (1987-1988). Wilkins has previously served in several leadership positions within the Tax Section, including as its vice chair of government relations, its vice chair of communications and as chair of two section committees.

Karen L. Hawkins is a founder and partner in the Oakland, Calif., law firm
Taggart & Hawkins, A.P.C. She has long been active with the ABA Section of Taxation and the State Bar of California Taxation Section. She is the recipient of the ABA Section of Taxation’s 2004 Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award.

The American Bar Association Section of Taxation is the largest professional
association of tax lawyers, with approximately 21,000 members nationwide. Its goals include helping taxpayers better understand their rights and obligations under the tax laws and working to achieve a simplified tax system that is equitable and efficient. With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.