December 2005

Yan Tsiprin is one of numerous UM Law alumni who was born outside the United States and came to Miami Law with aspirations of an international legal career. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in English, Yan enrolled in law school at UM.

Yan was a Dean's Scholar at UM Law School.

"The Admissions Committee together with the Office of Student Recruiting at UM Law does an outstanding job of assembling a diverse student body. The daily exposure to people with different cultural and educational backgrounds greatly enhances one's understanding of the world around us. I found this understanding to be a crucial factor in our profession."

After graduating from the UM School of Law in 1997, Yan joined Baker & McKenzie in Moscow and Almaty (Kazakhstan). As an associate attorney, Yan structured transactions, wrote agreements and advised on various corporate and international issues. His clientele included one of the largest ferroalloys companies in the world and one of the largest cement factories in Central Asia.

After coming back home and completing an LL.M. in Taxation at the U of Washington, Yan practiced U.S. Corporate International Tax with Deloitte and KPMG. There, he advised multinational clients on tax minimization, financing, Mergers & Acquisitions and other U.S. corporate and international tax issues. Early in 2005, Yan joined the investment bank in New York, TD Securities (U.S.A.) LLC, as a Vice President (Tax Research and Planning).

"Tax law, like many other specialties, is very challenging work and one of the main reasons that I chose UM Law over other law schools was the upper-level courses offered in tax and related fields. On this note, I would like to point out Professor Abraham, Robinson, T. Anderson, former-Dean Thompson, and Professor Stein (a visiting professor from Tel-Aviv University) who are not simply lecturers - they are thinkers who strive to develop one's legal reasoning. On the administrative side, eleven years down the road, I would like to point out the help and advice I received from Dean Hausler (Dean of Students), Dean VanderWyden (Associate Dean of Students), and last, but not least, Therese Lambert (Director of Student Recruitment)."