John Pajak

Who was John Pajak?

John J. Pajak was a special trial judge of the United States Tax Court.

Born in New York, Pajak attended public schools in Buffalo, New York. He attended Syracuse University from 1950–54, earning a B.A., magna cum laude, majoring in American Studies. There, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and Vice-President of Orange Key. From 1953-56 he was in the Syracuse University College of Law in a combination program which culminated in his earning of an LL.B., which was, later, converted to a J.D. He was in the Order of the Coif, and was a Notes Editor on the Syracuse Law Review. Admitted to New York Bar in 1956, Pajak joined the U.S. Department of Justice under the Attorney General's Recruitment Program for Honor Law Graduates, and served as an attorney from 1956-61. He was first in the Office of Alien Property, Litigation Section, 1956–58, and then moved to the Tax Division, Appellate Section, until 1961. He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1961, and entered private practice with the firm of Hogan & Hartson, in Washington, D.C., from 1961–66, then practicing with Andrew F. Oehmann until 1972, becoming a partner in Oehmann and Pajak.