Common interest in tax law proves irresistible

At UB Law School, even a tax class can be exciting. For Tamra Diamond and Alex Korotkin, Professor Kenneth Joyce's tax law class proved to be the starting point of their relationship. The couple, who were married in 1994, wound up sitting next to each other the first day of class, in the fall of 1992.

However, Alex and Tamra didn't begin dating until the following semester. The relationship took a more serious turn while both were taking another class by Professor Joyce. Alex says he not only found his life's partner-he also found an intriguing area of the law.

According to Alex, "Professor Joyce's class made me interested in tax law. While at UB, I completed the tax sequence, taking six tax law courses. Some may think tax law is difficult or boring, but I think that it provides analytical challenges that have many practical applications."

"One of UB Law School's greatest strengths is that it promotes practical experience," says Tamra. "While at UB I participated in the education law clinical program, representing students with disabilities. I also worked at National Fuel as a law clerk. Alex worked as a law clerk at Independent Health. These experiences, along with the Moot Court Board, Law Review and Trial technique, helped prepare us for our work in the 'real world.'"

Tamra graduated in 1993, and while she prepared for the bar exam, Alex provided love and support from a distance. While she was studying in Buffalo, he was working in New York City. Then, as Alex completed his last year of law school, Tamra worked in Buffalo.

Ten days after Alex took the bar exam, they were married. This year, the couple moved to a Rochester suburb "to be closer to family, which is important to both of us," Tamra says. She is employed by Michael R. Wolford & Associates, a commercial litigation firm, and Alex is a litigator with Saperston & Day P.C.

As for two lawyers building a successful marriage, Tamra says, "We decided that neither one of us would ever 'win' an argument, so we don't even bother...."