Student Profiles

    Class of 2023

  • Julian Adams

    Julian Adams has bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Psychology as well as graduate degrees from the George Washington University, Columbia International University, and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He served as a Captain in the Virginia Army National Guard. He is the President of the Humanist Law Students Association. He is married with two energetic little boys, and his favorite hobbies include traveling, American Football, and reading comic books. He plans to work on tax policy in the future.  
  • Sara Benowitz

    Sara Benowitz recently received her J.D. from UC Irvine School of Law in May 2022.  As a law student, she was very involved in UC Irvine’s Consumer Law Clinic and externed for Bet Tzedek Legal Services in the Elder Justice Department and its Medical-Legal Partnership with Harbor-UCLA. Also during this time, Sara developed a strong interest in tax law and took numerous tax classes including International Tax and Partnership Tax. Prior to law school, Sara earned her Masters of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the CUNY School of Public Health and a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Mathematics from Muhlenberg College. In her free time, Sara appreciates simple joys such as quality time with loved ones, collections of short stories, and strolls with her dog.   
     
  • Andres Berdugo

    Andres Berdugo is a Colombian lawyer, graduated from Universidad del Norte in 2019. He received a Master in Laws (LL.M.) degree from Penn State Law in 2021, where he served as a member of the Center for the Study of Mergers and Acquisitions. During law school he served at the Group of Litigation and Public Interest (GLIP) of Universidad del Norte and as Junior Editor for the German Law Journal. Andres has five years practicing law in some of the best law firms in Colombia, focusing on Corporate, Tax and M&A matters. He has published two articles concerning Colombian Tax Law for the journal of the Colombian Institute of Tax Law (Instituto Colombiano de Derecho Tributario – ICDT). He also worked as a research assistant at Penn State Law, and as an academic tutor in Universidad del Norte for the courses of Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Legal Writing. In his free time, Andres enjoys playing soccer, watching sports, playing piano, and spending time with his wife and son.
  • Siqi Chen

    Siqi Chen is a licensed California lawyer with business litigation and immigration legal experience. He received his B.A. in Economics from UCLA and his J.D. from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. During law school, Siqi wrote a journal article to discuss the opportunities and challenges to Chinese companies doing business in the U.S. during Donald Trump’s Administration. He was also the Business Editor of the School’s Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Law. Siqi volunteered as a mediator at the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center after law school. He later worked as an attorney at an immigration law firm to write petitions for immigrants with extraordinary abilities. Siqi then joined a boutique law firm where he advocated for his clients in civil cases and arbitrations. He proudly serves the communities in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. When free, Siqi enjoys cooking, outdoor activities, and having a good time with friends. 
  • Eddie Coronado

    Eddie Coronado received his J.D. from UC Irvine School of Law in 2022. During law school, Eddie clerked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Eddie developed a passion for tax law while attending the Current Issues in Tax Policy Colloquium, where he learned about the intersection between tax policy and social policy. Eddie continued to grow his tax knowledge by taking further tax-related coursework and writing a research paper about the United States’ cryptocurrency tax policies. Prior to attending law school, Eddie received his B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy from UC Davis before working as a Patent Assistant at an intellectual property law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. In his spare time, Eddie enjoys going to the gym, watching baseball, and solving chess puzzles. 
  • Han-Sol Leem

    Mr. HanSol Leem works as a partner lawyer in the tax group of Lee & Ko, one of Korea’s leading full-service law firms. He recevied his bachelor of laws degree(LL.B.) from Seoul National University in 2012 and his master of laws degree(LL.M., tax major) in 2017. He is currently in the course of Ph.D.(LL.D., tax major) at Seoul National University. As a lawyer specializing in tax, he handled various and extensive tax affairs, such as tax adivisory and responding to tax investigations, tax tribunal, tax litigation, tax criminal cases. For example, he won litigation for cancellation of the disposition of corporate tax related to  Intergraph's software usage fee, the leading case. In addition, he actively participates in tax-related conference presentations and discussions and has contributed to tax-related papers. 

  • Ian Mayr

    Ian Mayr graduated with his J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2022. During his time at UCI, he finished top 16 in UCI Law’s Moot Court Competition, served as Vice-Chair and Brief Writer of the Moot Court Board, served as Secretary of the Intellectual Property Law Society, served as Library Liaison of the Student Bar Association and was a member of the Tax Law Society. Ian also enjoyed his clinical experience at UCI where he participated in the California State Tax Clinic; Startup and Small Business Clinic; Intellectual Property, Arts, and Technology Clinic; Consumer Law Clinic; and International Justice Clinic. Ian’s interest in tax started in his final year of law school when he took Federal Income Tax. This spurred him on to take several other tax courses his final year and to write a paper on the tax implications of receiving reward coins through the processes of staking and mining cryptocurrency. Ian graduated magna cum laude from William Woods University with a major in Biology with a concentration in Pre-Med and minors in Chemistry and Physics. While at William Woods he also played for the Owl’s Men’s Soccer Team. After college, he ran his own food truck, Abominable Snow Cones, for two seasons.  

  • Victor Njenga

    Victor received his LL.B from Strathmore University Law School in Nairobi and a postgraduate diploma in law from the Kenya school of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Kenya. His passion for tax law started after participating and winning the inaugural East African Universities Tax Justice Debate in 2016. He further developed this interest by taking a course in Professional Diploma in International Taxation from the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD). Victor was previously a junior lawyer at ALN Kenya| Anjarwalla & Khanna where he gained experience in transactional advisory matters specifically in Real Estate, corporate commercial and tax transactions. Prior to this, he was an intern at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Law Division in Nairobi working on International Environmental Agreements (MEAs). Victor has an interest in international tax law and hopes to build upon his prior knowledge and experiences during his time at UCI to specialize in the area. In his spare time Victor plays rugby and enjoys listening to Afrohouse music. 
  • Gregory “Pk” Padilla

    Gregory "Pk" Padilla received his J.D. from UCI Law in 2022. During his studies, Pk served on the board of the tax law society for two years and leaned heavily into tax data analytics and digital modeling, culminating in his final paper reviewing computer-aided detection of tax avoidance. Before coming to UCI Law, he served both in the US Army Reserve and the active duty US Air Force, from which he ultimately retired. Along the way, he earned a bachelor's degree in Chinese from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. Today, Pk is working to hone his ability to communicate the conclusions of his tax data analysis and modeling. 
  • Maria Romero Rodriguez

    Maria E. Romero Rodriguez received a master’s degree in Taxation and Fiscal Policy from University of Lima, Peru in 2020. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Law from the same school and a certification in International Tax Law by the University Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Working as a tax lawyer in an Argentine-Peruvian tax law firm provided her with the opportunity for exposure not only to Peruvian legislation, but also to international tax regulations in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Further, she mentored several law students from other prestigious schools in Peru. She is an active member of the Bar Association of Lima and especially interested in international and M&A tax. In her spare time, she enjoys reading novels and watching 90’s tv shows.  
  • Fernando Romero

    Fernando Romero received his J.D. from UC Irvine School of Law in 2022. During the J.D. program, Fernando completed an internship with the California Department of Justice, Business and Tax section, and worked with the Low-Income Tax Clinic at Inland Counties Legal Services. Fernando first developed an interest in taxation during undergrad where he received his B.A. in Business Economics from UC Riverside. Fernando has a general interest in the policy side of taxation, and would ideally like to work for the government as a tax attorney. During his spare time, Fernando enjoys going to the beach, traveling to new places, and hanging out with family.   
  • Qianru (Helen) Wang

    Helen Wang earned her J.D. from Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law in 2017 and LLB in international economic law from Shanghai University of International Business and Economics. She developed her interest in tax during her family law practice working for one of the largest family law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area and serving high-net-worth clients in complex high-asset divorce cases. Helen is a yogi, a foodie, a plant lover, and an international traveler. Her greatest joy in life these days is to play peek-a-boo with her 1-year-old daughter.  
     

Alumni Profiles