Jonathan (Jon) B. Forman

Jonathan (Jon) B. Forman died in 2021 at age 69. Jon was a noted professor of law and became a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel in 2014, nominated by Kurt Lawson and Professor David Pratt.

Jon was a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL (B.A., 1973), the University of Iowa (M.A., Psychology, 1975), the University of Michigan (J.D., 1978), and the George Washington University in Washington, DC (M.A., Economics, 1983). He began his professional career as a law clerk for Judge Robert J. Yock of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC. He served as trial counsel in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1979 to 1983, and then served as tax counsel to U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) from 1983 to 1984. Jon spent the academic year 2009 to 2010 as Professor in Residence with the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel.

Jon began his teaching career at the College of Law at University of Oklahoma (“OU”) in 1985, teaching numerous tax courses, as well as Elder Law and Employee Benefits Law. At the time of his death, Jon held the Kenneth E. McAfee Centennial Chair in Law. He was a prolific author, authoring the book “Making America Work” (Urban Institute Press 2006), as well as 20 well-respected law review articles, and more than 300 other publications. He testified before the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Oklahoma Legislature.

Jon was a founding member of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (“ACT”) in 2001 to 2003, was a delegate to the 1998 and 2002 National Summits on Retirement Savings, and served as a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System.

Jon was a terrific collaborator, important to the success of both academic and American Bar Association (“ABA”) Section of Taxation projects. He was a constant presence at the ABA Section of Taxation meetings and chaired the Committee on Tax Policy and Simplification from 2013-15. As a pension expert, he was also active with the ABA Section of Taxation’s Employee Benefits Committee, serving as Assistant Vice Chair of the Employee Benefits Legislation and Litigation Subcommittee. Jon was also committed to pro bono work and offered his assistance to Norman, OK residents through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (“VITA”) program.

Jon’s students at OU remember him for his passion for justice and the fair application of the law for everyone. For those who knew him well, Jon was always up for an adventure. He loved traveling the National Parks on his motorcycle.


Photo Source: University of Oklahoma College of Law https://www.law.ou.edu/news-and-media/university-oklahoma-law-professor-jonathan-forman-testifies-us-department-labor