If you can read this statute, thank a tax teacher

In the last month, Thomson-West published a nutshell on the taxation of S Corporations that I coauthored. One of the nicer things about publishing a book is the dedication page where an author can thank anyone or anything. For the nuthsell, I decided to use the following dedication:

Cui dono lepidum novum libellum?
To Professors Kahn, Perris and Newton, three truly amazing professors.

Professor Kahn is, of course, my father who taught me many things (including partnership tax when I was in law school). Professor Perris, a tax attorney at Squire Sanders, was my corporate tax professor at Michigan and it was that class that made me realize how interesting tax can be.

The final professor is not one of my former law professors. I was a double major in classical studies and latin in college and Professor Newton was the reason I decided to major in those areas. He was an amazing teacher of not just the subject being covered but also the love of learning.

Professor Newton has retired from teaching but I still stay in touch with him. Thus, I sent him a copy of the book with a note asking him to look at the dedication page. Last week, I received an email from him that made it clear that he was very touched. Even though I am a professor myself now, I forgot how much it means to hear from someone who truly appreciates what you have done for them.