Episode 6 of Cited Authorities. A conversation with Fred Brown, Director of the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Baltimore School of Law since 1990.
Fred started as an electrical engineer at Rutgers, went to Georgetown Law for his JD summa cum laude, then to NYU Law for his Tax LLM. He spent two years at Shaw Pittman in DC and taught as an acting assistant professor at NYU before joining UBalt in fall 1990. He has coached UBalt Law's tax moot court team for over 30 years and co-authored Understanding Taxation of Business Entities with Professor Walter Schwidetzky. In this episode, Fred and Alex discuss why engineers make good tax lawyers, how Fred recruited Tax Court judges and former DOJ Tax Division leaders to teach, Fred's year advising the Joint Committee on Taxation during the 2000-2001 simplification study, Glen Frost's ascent from UBalt Law to founding one of Maryland's fastest-growing law firms, and what running nine marathons has taught Fred about preparation.

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Episode 5 of Cited Authorities. A Saturday-afternoon conversation with Ebony M. Thompson, Baltimore City Solicitor. She is Baltimore's chief legal officer, and the first woman and first openly gay person to hold the role in the city's nearly 300-year history. We talked about a career that runs from a Baltimore public-school internship to City Hall: economics at Brown, the Marine Corps Reserve, wealth management at UBS in Midtown Manhattan on the morning of September 11, a successful real estate career, law school in her thirties, eight years at Venable, the call from Jim Shea, and the work she now leads as City Solicitor. We also talked about recording more than 228,000 city properties on a blockchain, an eight-year fight with her insurer over IVF coverage, and the friend whose advice at a Harvard graduation prompted her to follow her calling and go to law school.

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Ellis Duncan is the Director of the Graduate Tax Program at Georgetown University Law Center. He built his tax career through Ernst & Young's M&A group in New York City and hedge fund work at Ropes & Gray. In 2011, Ellis had a networking meeting with Albert Lauber, then the director of Georgetown Law's Graduate Tax Program, to ask about transitioning into government. Ellis walked out with a job offer as Assistant Director of the Graduate Tax Program. After Judge Lauber was appointed to the United States Tax Court in 2013, Ellis became Director of the Graduate Tax Program.

In this episode, Ellis discusses his path to leading the Graduate Tax Program and why helping his students build their careers is the most rewarding work he's ever done.

Show Notes: https://citedauthorities.com/episodes/ellis-duncan
Georgetown Law Office of Graduate Careers: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/your-life-career/career-exploration-professional-development/for-graduate-students/

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Robert C. Bonsib is the co-founder of MarcusBonsib and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has tried more than 300 jury trials across state and federal courts, beginning his career as a prosecutor in Prince George's County, Maryland, in 1974. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney, and as Deputy State's Attorney under the Honorable Alexander Williams Jr., before entering private practice. He is a recipient of the Heeney Award for Lifetime Excellence in Criminal Law.

In this episode, Bob discusses his five decades as a criminal law practitioner, the art of cross-examination, and advice for young lawyers on what they don't teach you in law school.

Show Notes

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Lisa D. Sparks was the first person in her family to graduate from high school. At age 22, she graduated from law school as valedictorian. She built a construction litigation practice, served as a JAG captain, and guided a software company through a private equity buyout as general counsel. Lisa walked into her first day at a 1,000-employee construction firm expecting to be in-house counsel, only to learn she was now the Chief Administrative Officer. In this episode of Cited Authorities, Lisa reflects on her path as a first-generation attorney who graduated during the Great Recession, how she built a book of business from scratch, and the only measure of success that matters: where you started versus where you are.

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CBS asked for this interview. They couldn't get it. Cited Authorities did. You may have seen the recent 48 Hours episode on the murder of Joseph Shymanski in Calvert County, Maryland. CBS, 48 Hours: My Uncle Joe's Murder (aired Oct. 18, 2025). Cited Authorities Host Alexander Powell's friend, former classmate, and former co-worker Christopher J. Monte successfully prosecuted that case. Before he became an award-winning homicide prosecutor, Chris was a classical musician in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In this exclusive interview and series premiere of Cited Authorities, Alex and Chris discuss Chris's path from music to law, their time working together as prosecutors, and how Chris built a case after the defendant had tried to destroy every piece of evidence.

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Cited Authorities is a new interview series hosted by Washington, DC tax attorney and former prosecutor Alexander Powell. Behind every successful legal career is a series of decisions that never made it onto a résumé. Every episode we talk to accomplished attorneys to hear those stories. Season One guests include: Rod Rosenstein, Partner at Baker McKenzie, Former Deputy Attorney General of the United States; Pamela Gilbert, Partner at Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, Former Executive Director and Presidential Transition Team Lead, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; Ellis Duncan, Director of the Graduate Tax Program at Georgetown University Law Center; and many more prominent attorneys from courtrooms, boardrooms, and government offices sharing how they actually built their careers.

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Website: citedauthorities.com