As we continue to mourn the sudden and terribly sad passing of our colleague, teacher, and friend Professor Alan Appel, we share information about his memorial as well as recognize his wonderful and enduring legacy for our law school community and the legal profession. His memorial is on Monday, October 26, 2026 at 10:30 A.M. at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 180 West 76th Street, New York, NY 10023. All faculty and students are encouraged to attend services if they wish and NYLS will work to ensure any class cancellations and class absences are accommodated.
Dear NYLS Community,
In his long career, Professor Appel exemplified all the ways lawyers are part of our society. From the public sector to private practice to academia, he navigated vastly different worlds with grace, skill, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, and in every role he helped shaped U.S. international tax law.
Professor Appel earned his B.B.A. from Baruch College, graduating in 1973. He received his J.D. from NYLS in 1976, graduating first in his class, and his LL.M. from New York University in 1980. He began his legal career working in public service, serving as a trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. and New York City. He then was in private practice for several decades, including at the law firm Bryan Cave (now known as BCLP LLP). NYLS was proud to recruit Professor Appel to join our faculty full-time in 2013, after he had taught as an adjunct professor for several years. His hiring made possible the creation of the International Tax Program, and he was a pillar of our tax curriculum.
He cared deeply about our community, its success, and the success of our students. He loved teaching, writing, and mentoring the next generation, which was evident in everything he did for them. And, he was an incredibly generous and supportive friend, colleague, and institutional steward, and always supported our scholarships and programs. He recently celebrated his 50th Alumni Reunion with his NYLS classmates which was both an incredibly touching and proud moment for him. In every way, he was an NYLS success story.
His impact on the tax bar and legal practice cannot be overstated. He was a leader in the ABA Tax Section, a Council Director of the Section’s Committees on U.S. Activities of Foreigners and Tax Treaties, Foreign Activities of U.S. Taxpayers, Transfer Pricing, and the Foreign Lawyers Forum. He was also the Chair of the U.S. Activities of Foreigners and Tax Treaties Committee of the Tax Section. On behalf of the Tax Section, Professor Appel had the primary responsibility for drafting and submitting comments to the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS concerning the scope of the guidance provided by proposed regulations under Section 1446 of the Internal Revenue Code, an important provision that ensures that taxes are properly paid in the United States by certain partnerships with international partners. He was also asked by the Office of the Chief Counsel to train its attorneys on this issue. Professor Appel published four articles on the Section 1446 regulations in The Journal of International Taxation, Tax Management Memorandum, and the Tax Management International Journal. Professor Appel was on the Board of Advisors for the Journal of International Taxation. He published articles in Tax Notes, Tax Notes Today, Tax Notes State, Tax Notes International, The Journal of Taxation, Tax Management Memorandum, Tax Management International Journal, The Journal of International Taxation, the New York Law Journal, and the Westchester Bar Journal. He was a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel.
Above all, Professor Appel was a kind, thoughtful, and caring colleague, mentor, and friend to many within NYLS and beyond. There are too many stories to recount of alumni and current students pointing to Alan’s teaching and encouragement as the reason they decided to make tax law the focus of their legal careers. His legacy is measured by all the lives that he impacted, as well as by setting an example of the caring, supportive, and collaborative law school community we all will continue to uphold. It will be difficult to walk these halls knowing we will not see Professor Appel again, but we can find comfort knowing that he loved being a professor here, cherished his role as an engaged alumnus, and appreciated the many friends he had in our community.
Please join us again in sending our deepest condolences to his spouse Ellen, his children, and his grandchildren. Please link here to find an online obituary. NYLS will host a remembrance to honor Professor Appel in the near future. We are also designating April 15, 2027 as Professor Alan Appel Day.
May Professor Alan Appel rest in peace.
John E. Estes ‘95, Chair, Board of Trustees
Anthony W. Crowell, Dean and President, Professor of Law
William P. LaPiana, Dean of Faculty, Rita and Joseph Solomon Professor of Law
Matthew Gewolb, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Law
Ann F. Thomas, Otto Walter Professor Emerita and Former Director, Graduate Tax Program