“I got little done that day because the women’s clothes were giving me the vapors,” joked noted Tax Notes Editor Lee Sheppard about the Inauguration at the opening of her featured talk as part of the 2009 Delaware Tax Institute on Friday, January 30th.Sheppard interspersed salient points about taxes with humorous remarks on everything from politics to fashion. Early in her talk, she cracked, “There’s a lot of people running around slapping themselves on the forehead because they’re realizing that Obama’s not a socialist, and they thought they voted for one.” She discussed a wide range of topics including the stimulus bill currently being worked on by the Senate and the Alternative Minimum Tax. Talking about Obama’s economic team, she commented, “A lot of these people caused the problem that they’re being asked to solve,” and she noted that when assigning blame for the current economic failures in the country, there was plenty to go around to political and financial leaders of all stripes.The daylong program also featured two plenary panel discussions in the morning, as well as a talk on Tax Preparer Penalty Rules and the “Know Your Client” Disclosure Initiative given by Peter S. Gordon of Gordon, Fournaris &amp; Mammarella and Miguel D. Pena of Fox Rothschild LLP. In addition to Sheppard’s distinguished address, the afternoon featured several smaller breakout sessions covering topics such as “Making the Most of Retirement Assets” and “Developments in Case Law Affecting Trusts.”Widener Law Associate Professor Nicholas Mirkay along with local tax practitioners organized the 2009 Delaware Tax Law Institute. Widener Law co-sponsored the Institute along with the Delaware Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Wilmington Family Office. Widener Law Dean Linda Ammons opened the program in the morning with a short welcome.