Karen L. Hawkins is the Director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility. Prior to taking this position in April 2009, Ms. Hawkins was in private practice at the Oakland, California law firm of Taggart & Hawkins where she specialized in civil and criminal tax controversy cases for nearly 30 years. She has been a frequent speaker and writer on a variety of diverse tax law topics including: Innocent Spouse Relief, Attorney's Fees Awards, Collection Due Process, Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties, Tax Court Litigation, International Tax Issues, and Ethics in Tax Practice. Ms. Hawkins has a number of reported precedent-setting tax cases to her credit in the U.S. Tax Court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Hawkins holds several degrees including: MBA in Taxation, J. D., and M.Ed. Among her many honors and awards are: V. Judson Kelin Award from the California Bar's Taxation Section and the National Pro Bono Award from the ABA's Taxation Section.