AI in Government Agencies: Global Challenges

Michael Hatfield is the Dean Emeritus Roland L. Hjorth Professor of Law. His research is centered on issues of technology and taxation and the professional responsibility of tax lawyers. He has written on legal ethics more generally, taxation, trusts and estates, and law and religion. His articles have been published in the Florida Tax Review, the Arizona State Law Journal, the Indiana Law Journal, the Florida State University Law Review, the Yale Journal of Law and Technology, Tax Notes, the Northwestern Law Review Colloquy, the NYU Annual Survey of American Law, the Journal of Law and Religion, the Lewis and Clark Law Review, the Baylor Law Review, the South Central Review (Modern Languages Association), and elsewhere. He contributed to the anthology On Torture (Johns Hopkins University Press) and wrote the E-Langdell E-casebook on tax lawyer ethics. In 2017, he was awarded the UW Law Faculty Scholarship Award for Excellence in Law Review Articles.

He is admitted to the bar in New York, where he was an associate in two New York City law firms: Debevoise & Plimpton and Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett. At Debevoise & Plimpton he was an associate in the tax department primarily concerned with the taxation of international private equity funds, and at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett he was an associate in the estate planning department. He also is admitted to the bar in Texas, where he was Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He was a shareholder in Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan, P.C., in San Antonio, Texas where his practice was devoted to taxation and estate planning. Prior to joining the University of Washington, he was the Glenn D. West Research Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Texas Tech University School of Law.

Michael Hatfield’s UW faculty homepage

Kathlynn Ireland, ’96, is a Property Tax Policy Specialist for the Idaho State Tax Commission. She has worked for the Commission for 20 years. Her duties primarily entail working on the Administrative Rules Committee, liaising with the state legislature, and assisting local elected officials with assessment and property tax questions.

Kathlynn is an IAAO instructor, teaching classes on assessment principles and appraisal methodology throughout Idaho and nationally. Kathlynn graduated from the Certified Public Manager program in June 2021. The Certified Public Manager is a two-year program focusing on leadership and management practices. Her thesis was entitled “Upgrading Idaho’s Circuit Breaker,” which explored simplifying the Circuit Breaker Property Tax Reduction Application, improving efficiencies through programming, and introducing legislation to improve the application process for program recipients. Kathlynn’s thesis earned the prestigious national George C. Askew Award for exemplary Certified Public Manager capstone project.

Kathlynn lives in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and an impetuous Pitbull named Bella. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington.

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The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights provides transformative human rights education to thousands of learners of all ages in Idaho and beyond through programs and resources that build on the ideas inspired by the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

They do this work by taking lessons from history, connecting them to the present, and working to create a future that centers dignity and belonging for all. They work onsite in the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and Education Building; offsite in classrooms, companies, and communities around the state; and online, reaching national and international audiences.

Learn more at wassmuthcenter.org

5 p.m.: Registration opens; self-guided exploration of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights.

5:30 p.m.: Seating opens; pre-talk meet-and-greet with fellow Boise-area Huskies and friends.

6 p.m.: Moderated conversation, “AI in Government Agencies: Global Challenges” with guest Michael Hatfield and host Kathlynn Ireland, ’96.

7 p.m.: Hosted post-talk mixer.

7:30 p.m.: Optional docent-led tour of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights begins.

8:30 p.m.: Event ends.