Events
Mark W. Cochran
Professor of Law
Contact Information
Education
- LL.M. in Taxation, University of Florida, 1981
- J.D., Vanderbilt University, 1980
- A.B.J., University of Georgia, 1977
License to Practice
- Tennesee
- United States Tax Court
Specialties and Courses
- Conflict of laws
- Federal income taxation
- Taxation of business entities
Biography
Professor Cochran was a tax attorney with Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry in Nashville (now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings) from 1981 until 1985, when he joined the St. Mary’s faculty. He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Texas, the University of Georgia, and Vermont Law School, and he served for a year as Professor In Residence at the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C.
During his tenure at St. Mary’s, Professor Cochran has served in various administrative positions, including Director of Evening Studies and Co-Director of the summer program in Innsbruck, Austria. He has chaired the faculty appointments committee for several years.
Professor Cochran and his wife have two adult sons and two grandsons. In his spare time, he enjoys international travel, college football, blues guitar, and single malt Scotch. In the pre-COVID era, his trivia team advanced to the citywide championship, placing fourth.
Highlights
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Order of the Coif
- Distinguished Faculty Award, 2001
- Professor-in-Residence, IRS Chief Counsel’s Office, Washington D.C., 1988-89
Publications
Articles in a Periodical
- “Back to the Future: Marriage and Divorce Under the 2017 Tax Act,” 51 ST. MARY’S L.J. 101 (2019)
- “Baseball’s Conflict of Laws,” 6 MISSISSIPPI SPORTS L. REV. 141 (2017)
- S Corporation Stock Sales: Tax Efficiency and Transaction Costs, 128 Tax Notes 309 (2010).
- Like-Kind Exchanges and Original Sin, 83 Tax Notes 431 (1999).
- 1969: The Birth of Tax Reform, 25 St. Mary’s L.J. 355 (1993).
- 1989 Tax Act Compounds Confusion over Tax Status of Personal Injury Damages, 49 TAX NOTES 1565 (1990).
- The Case for Revisiting Carryover Basis, 47 Tax Notes 1241 (1990).
- Cadillacs, Gold Watches, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986: The Continuing Evolution of the Tax Treatment of Gifts to Employees, 5 Akron Tax J. 27 (1988).
- The Infield Fly Rule and the Internal Revenue Code: An Even Further Aside, 29 William and Mary L. Rev. 43 (1987).
- Should Personal Injury Damage Awards Be Taxed?, 38 Case Western Reserve L. REV. 43 (1987).
- Book Review: Fundamentals of Corporate Taxation, by Lind, Schwarz, Lathrope and Rosenberg, 55 Univ. OF Cincinnati L. REV. 761 (1987).
- Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Some Observations and Suggestions for Improving Internal Revenue Code Section 1244, (coauthor) 39 Southwestern L.J. 975 (1986).
- Gift-Leaseback Rental Deductions: A Critical Review of Three Decades of Litigation, 6 REVIEW OF TAXATION OF INDIVIDUALS 307 (1982).
Teaching Materials
- Transnational Litigation (2004) (Self-published teaching materials.)
- Federal Income Taxation: Law and Policy (2003). (Self-published teaching materials.)
Others
- Commentary: Give Tax Collectors Tools to do Their Job, San Antonio Express-News (May 30, 2021).
- Comparison of S Corporations and Partnerships: Tax Treatment of Formation, Report to American Bar Association Tax Section, Committee on S Corporations (1985).
- Unrelated Business Income Problems of Churches and Other Religious Organizations (coauthor), PRENTICE HALL TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS SERVICE, pg. 3649 et seq (1983).