Faculty & Staff

Nicholas

A.

Mirkay

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Professor of Law
Director of Faculty Research (2018 - 2021)
Carlsmith Ball Faculty Scholar (2018-2020)

Degrees

LLM, Georgetown University Law Center, 1996
JD, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1992
BSBA, Saint Louis University, 1989

Biography

Professor Nicholas Mirkay joined the Richardson School of Law Faculty in 2017. He arrived from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska where he was a professor for six years, most recently serving as Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Planning. Prior to his tenure at Creighton, Professor Mirkay was an Associate Professor of Law for eight years at the Delaware Law School of Widener University in Wilmington, Delaware. He has primarily taught tax and business law courses in his twenty-one years in legal academia, including Federal Income Tax, Trusts & Estates, Nonprofit Organizations, State & Local Tax, and Business Associations. Professor Mirkay has received outstanding faculty awards at all these law schools.

Professor Mirkay’s scholarship has focused predominantly ontax exempt nonprofit organizations, with more recent articles addressing wealth and racial inequality in tax systems. His scholarly work has appeared in a number of notable journals including the Wisconsin Law ReviewNorth Carolina Law ReviewNorthwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy, and the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. He is also a contributing editor to the Nonprofit Law Prof Blog.

Professor Mirkay regularly engages in community service, advising and assisting nonprofit organizations on state formation and federal tax exemption. He has served on a number of nonprofit boards including University Health Partners of Hawai’i, the Research & Institutional Review Board of The Queen’s Medical Center, Dignity Rights Int’l, ACLU Nebraska, Food Bank of Delaware, and the United Way of St. Louis. While at Delaware Law, Professor Mirkay assisted a graduating law student with forming the first law school chapter of Wills for Heroes, an organization that provides free estate planning services to first responders. Prior to entering legal academia, Professor Mirkay had eleven years of experience as a tax and business lawyer, including two St. Louis, Missouri law firms, the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Tax Court.

Awards

  • Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Richardson Law School, 2020
  • Faculty Commencement Speaker (class elected), Richardson Law School, 2019 & 2021
  • Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel, 2015
  • Creighton University Award for Strategic Planning, Creighton University, 2014
  • Outstanding Faculty Member, Creighton University School of Law, 2013
  • Outstanding Faculty Member, Delaware Law School of Widener University, 2011
  • President’s Award, Widener Law Student Bar Association, 2011
  • Red Ribbon Humanitarian Award, Delaware HIV Consortium, 2010
  • Faculty Member of the Year, Widener Law Student Bar Association, 2007

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Ali‘i Trusts, in NATIVE HAWAIIAN LAW: A TREATISE (MacKenzie, Serrano, Sproat & Tuteur eds., 2d ed. forthcoming 2024), with Ashely K. Obrey & Susan K. Serrano.

Articles

  • Formulating Tax Policy Through the Lens of Economic Dignity  (in progress).
  • Creating a Pro-Tax Story for Racial Equity, 21 PITT. TAX REV. 109 (2023), with Palma Strand.
    • §  Condensed published version:  Creating a Pro-Tax Story for Racial Equity, Tax Notes State, p. 343 (April 24, 2023), with Palma J. Strand.
  • Interest Convergence & the Racial Wealth Gap: Defusing Racism’s Divide-and-Conquer via Universal Basic Income, 110 KEN. L. J. 695 (2022), with Palma J. Strand.
  • U.S. Tax Systems Need Anti-Racist Restructuring, 168 TAX NOTES FED. 855 (2020), with Francine J. Lipman & Palma J. Strand. – reprinted & condensed in: #BlackTaxpayersMatter: Anti-Racist Restructuring of U.S. Tax Systems, ABA HUM. RTS. MAG. (Vol 46: No. 1, Dec. 2020).
  • Racialized Tax Inequity: Wealth, Racism, and The U.S. System of Taxation, 15 NW. J. L. & SOC. POL’Y 2020, with Palma J. Strand. SSRN | ScholarSpace
  • Disruptive Leadership in Legal Education, 22 RICH. PUB. INT. L. REV. 365 (2019), with Palma J. Strand. HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
  • 50 Years of Loving: A Reflection on Seeking Justice Through Love and Relationships, 50 CREIGHTON L. REV. 685 (2017). HeinOnlineSSRN | ScholarSpace
  • Equality or Dysfunction?  State Tax Law in a Post-Windsor World, 47 CREIGHTON L. REV. 261 (2014). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace
  • Globalism, Public Policy, and Tax-Exempt Status:  Are U.S. Charities Adrift at Sea? 91 N.C. L. REV. 101 (2013). HeinOnline | SSRNScholarSpace
  • Hall v. U.S.:  Chapter 12 Debtors Liable for Post-Petition Taxes, considerchapter13.org (June 3, 2012) (invited). 
  • It’s All About Timing:  Will Karns Impact the IRS Battles Over Advance Receipts?  12 DEL. L. REV. 55 (2010) (invited). SSRN | ScholarSpace
  • Losing Our Religion:  Reevaluating the §501(c)(3) Exemption of Religious Organizations That Discriminate, 17 WM. & MARY BILL OF RTS. J. 715 (2009). HeinOnline | SSRNScholarSpace
  • Return of “Charity Care”:  The Evolving Debate over Nonprofit Hospitals’ Tax-Exempt Status, 2008 WIDENER FORUM 1 (Fall 2008). ScholarSpace
  • Is It Charitable to Discriminate?  The Necessary Transformation of Section 501(c)(3) into the Gold Standard for Charities, 2007 WIS. L. REV. 45 (2007). HeinOnline | SSRN | ScholarSpace | Bepress Legal Series
  • Relinquish Control!  Why the IRS Should Change Its Stance on Exempt Organizations in Ancillary Joint Ventures, 6 NEV. L.J. 21 (Fall 2005). HeinOnlineSSRN | ScholarSpace

Other Selected Publications

  • Expert testimony for GAO Report 22104553 (May 18, 2022), Tax Equity: Lack of Data Limits Ability to Analyze Effects of Tax Policies on Households by Demographic Characteristics.
  • Helix Bar Review by AccessLex, Agency & Partnership outlines (2020), with Michael Hussey.
  • “U.S. Supreme Court Case to Watch: Hall v. U.S.,” considerchapter13.org (Oct. 23, 2011). ScholarSpace
  • Editorial, with Patricia D. Beebe, Going Hungry in Delaware, THE NEWS J. (Wilmington, DE), Sep. 28, 2008.
  • With Lisa D. McLaughlin, Traps for the Unwary:  Tax-Exempt Organizations’ Compliance with the Intermediate Sanctions Rules and Lobbying and Political Campaign Prohibitions, 49 ST. LOUIS B.J. 18 (Spring 2003). ScholarSpace
  • State Taxation of Nonresidents’ Deferred Income:  The Eroding Future of Source Taxation,16 J. STATE TAX’N 9 (Summer 1997). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
  • The Supreme Court’s Decision in Cheek:  Does It Encourage Willful Tax Evasion? 56 MO. L. REV. 1119 (1991). HeinOnline | ScholarSpace
  • Bankruptcy and Class Actions:  The Continuing Conflict Over Class Proofs of Claim, 56 MO. L. REV. 749 (1991). HeinOnline |  ScholarSpace
portrait photo

Contact

Phone: (808) 956-9435
Fax: (808) 956-5569

namirkay@hawaii.edu

Office

Files

Classes

Course #Class TitleSemesterYear
538
Spring2024
538
Spring2024
552
Spring2020
552
Fall2019
552
Spring2019
552
Spring2021
552
Spring2018
552
Spring2018
552
Summer2019
566
Spring2020