David A. Brennen
Frost, Brown & Todd Professor of Law
David A. Brennen, who served as dean from 2009 to 2020, is the Frost, Brown & Todd Professor. Before joining UK, he served a two-year term as Deputy Director at the Association of American Law Schools and spent several years as a professor at University Georgia, Mercer University, University of Richmond and Syracuse University. Regarded as an innovator in the field of nonprofit law as it relates to taxation, Brennen is a co-founder and co-editor of Nonprofit Law Prof Blog, founding editor of Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law Abstracts, co-founder of the AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law and a co-author of one of the first law school casebooks on taxation of nonprofit organizations. An elected member of the American Law Institute, Brennen also served as an advisor on the ALI’s Restatement of the Law: Charitable Nonprofit Organizations, was a 2019-20 Fellow for American Council on Education and, in 2024-25, will serve as Chair of the ABA Council on Legal Education & Admission to the Bar.
Brennen received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida Atlantic University in 1988 and his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law in 1991, where he also received his LL.M. in tax law in 1994. Brennen has served in leadership roles with AALS, Society of American Law Teachers, Southeast Association of Law Schools, Law School Admission Council, ABA Accreditation Committee, ABA Council on Legal Education and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Brennen began his career in legal education as an adjunct professor at Florida A&M University and has held visiting appointments at University of Alabama, Temple University and University of Florida.
Before entering academia, Brennen practiced law in Tallahassee, Florida at Messer, Vickers, Caparello, Madsen, Lewis, Goldman & Metz, PA, and the State of Florida Department of Revenue. He has been a member of the Florida Bar - Tax Section, American Bar Association - Section of Taxation and the National Bar Association. In addition, he has served on several boards and held many special appointments, including Board President for Southeast Association of Law Schools, Board Chair for Bluegrass Care Navigators, and Board Secretary for AccessLex.
Specialties
- Tax
- Non-Profit
- Law School Administration
- Torts
- THE TAX LAW OF CHARITIES AND OTHER EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS: CASES, MATERIALS, QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES, 3rd ed. (with Jones, Willis and Moran) (Mathew Bender – 1st and 2nd editions with Thomson/West) (forthcoming 2014).
- BEYOND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY IN UNITED STATES TAX LAW (Editor) (with Karen Brown and Darryll Jones), (Wolters Kluwer) (2013).
- A Normative Rationale for the Charitable Tax Exemption, BEYOND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY IN UNITED STATES TAX LAW (Wolters Kluwer) (2013).
- Race and Equality Across the Law School Curriculum: The Law of Tax Exemption(reprinted in Ch. 5), CRITICAL TAX THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION (Cambridge) (2009)
- Property Tax Exemptions (Ch. 22), BENDER'S STATE TAXATION: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE (Matthew Bender) (with Darryll K. Jones) (2009)
- Bob Jones University v. U. S., 408 U.S. 564 (1983), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES (Thomson/West) (2008)
- THE TAX LAW OF CHARITIES AND OTHER EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS: CASES, MATERIALS, QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES, 2nd ed. (with Jones, Willis and Moran) (Thomson/West) (2007, 2003)
- STATUTORY SUPPLEMENT TO THE TAX LAW OF CHARITIES AND OTHER EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS: CASES, MATERIALS, QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES, 2nd ed (with Jones, Willis and Moran) (Thomson/West) (2008, 2003)
- The Tax Law of Charities and Other Exempt Organizations: Cases, Materials, Questions and Activities, 4td ed. (with Jones, Moran and Willis) (Carolina Academic Press) (2021)
- Bob Jones University, FEMINIST TAX JUDGMENTS (Cambridge) (2017)
- Succeeding in the Candidate Pool: Resources Available at Association of American Law Schools for Persons Interested in Becoming a Law School Dean, 31 Seattle Univ. L. Rev. 791 (2008)
- The Commerciality Doctrine and “Charitable” Homes for the Aged - State and Local Tax Perspectives, 75 FORDHAM L. REV. 833 (2007)
- The Charitable Tax Exemption is About Much More Than Efficiency, 14:3 NONPROFIT QUARTERLY MAGAZINE 67 (2007)
- Introducing the Law of Nonprofit Organizations and Philanthropy, 41 GA. L. REV. 1099 (2007)
- A Diversity Theory of Charitable Tax Exemption - Beyond Efficiency, Through Critical Race Theory, Toward Diversity, 4 PITT. TAX REV. 1 (2006)
- Congress Finally Adopts New UBIT Standards in 512(b)(13) for Controlled Entities, 26:1 NEWS QUARTERLY (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Fall 2006, at 9
- Supreme Court Rules That Contingent Attorney Fees Are Gross Income to Client, 25:3 NEWS QUARTERLY (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Spring 2005, at 7
- Race and Equality Across the Law School Curriculum: The Law of Tax Exemption, 54 J. LEG. EDUC. 336 (2004) reprinted in CRITICAL TAX THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION (Cambridge University Press) (forthcoming)
- Race Conscious Affirmative Action by Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) Corporations After Grutter and Gratz, 77 ST. JOHN'S L. REV. 711 (2003)
- Advising Tax-Exempt Organizations in Georgia (CLE materials prepared for 2003 CLE conference sponsored by Mercer University School of Law and Macon Bar Association) (available at Mercer University School of Law library) (approx. 50 pgs) (October 2003)
- 2002 Eleventh Circuit Survey: Federal Taxation, 54:4 MERCER L. REV. 1563 (2003)
- The Potential Impact of the Supreme Court's Pending Decision in Grutter v. Bollinger on Private Universities and Other Tax-exempt Charities, 22:3 NEWS QUARTERLY (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Spring 2003, at 15
- Charities and the Constitution: Evaluating the Role of Constitutional Principles in Determining the Scope of Tax Law's Public Policy Limitation for Charities, 5 FLA TAX REV. 779 (2002)
- The Service Renews its Crack Down on Taxpayers Who Make Tax Refund Claims Based on Entitlement to Slavery Reparations, 21:3 NEWS LETTER (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Spring 2002, at 9-10
- Real Property v. Personal Property: The Service Reverses its Position that Radio Towers are Real Property for Purposes of the UBIT Exclusion, 20:3 NEWS QUARTERLY (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Spring 2001, at 8
- Tax Expenditures, Social Justice and Civil Rights: Expanding the Scope of Civil Rights Laws to Apply to Tax-Exempt Charities, 2001 B.Y.U. L. REV. 167 (2001)
- The Power of The Treasury: Racial Discrimination, Public Policy and "Charity" In Contemporary Society, 33 U.C. DAVIS L. REV. 389-447 (2000)
- What's in a Name: IRS' Attempts to Tax Nonprofits on the Exploitation of the Organization's or Its Members' Names, 4:1 COMMUNITY TAX LAW REPORT (Comm’ty Tax Law Project, Richmond, Va.), Winter 2000, at 7-9, 22-27
- More O.J.: Federal Trial Courts Uphold Denial of Casualty Loss Deduction to O.J. Simpson's Neighbors, 19:3 NEWS LETTER (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Spring 2000, at 8
- Tax Provisions Affect Charitable Giving, 62:2 UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND MAGAZINE p. 11 (Winter 2000)
- Loan Guarantees as Liabilities for Purposes of the Exclusion for Debt Discharge, 19:2 NEWS LETTER (ABA Sec. Tax'n, Washington, D.C.), Winter 2000, at 10
- The Power of The Treasury: Racial Discrimination, Public Policy and "Charity" In Contemporary Society, American Bar Association Section of Taxation, 2000 Midyear Meeting Materials, January 21, 2000, available in LEXIS, ABA Library, ABA Tax File (2000)
- Legal Considerations in Forming and Operating Tax-Exempt Charities in Virginia (with Gerald W. S. Carter) (CLE materials prepared for 1999 annual meeting of Old Dominion Bar Association) (available at University of Richmond School of Law library) (approx. 100 pgs) (June 1999)
- Treasury Regulations And Judicial Deference In The Post-Chevron Era, 13 GA. ST. U. L. REV. 387-430 (1997)
- The Proposed Corporate Sponsorship Regulations: Is The Treasury Department "Sleeping With The Enemy"? 6 KAN. J.L. & PUB. POL'Y 49-75 (1996)
- Can Tax-Exempt Charities Lawfully Engage in Race-Based Affirmation After SFAA v. UNC/Harvard?, (work-in-progress)
- Race Conscious Affirmative Action by Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) Institutions After Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC, 21 PITT. TAX REV. 1 (2023)
Dean Brennen is one of two editors who work with a number of authors for 'Nonprofit Law Prof Blog'.