The Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, the largest tax law firm in the country, is looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team and gain valuable experience in a legal environment.
Summary
The Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, the largest tax law firm in the country, is looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team and gain valuable experience in a legal environment.
Our mission is to serve America's taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the Internal Revenue Service. It is a great place to work with an excellent benefits package and family-friendly atmosphere.
Because of its tax-related mission, the Office of Chief Counsel requires fingerprinting, tax verification, and a background security investigation as part of the pre-employment process.
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel’s Honors Program offers entry-level positions that provide the opportunity to acquire significant training and experience in tax law. Honors Program positions are open to individuals each year who have superior academic qualifications or relevant experience to the work of Chief Counsel. The target start date for this position is Fall 2022.
If you are not a licensed attorney when you join our Honors Program, you will initially be brought on board as a Law Clerk. Upon admission to the bar, and demonstration of satisfactory employment during the interim period, you will be eligible for conversion to an Attorney position.
We are recruiting for both our National Office and our Field Office divisions throughout the country.
National Office
We are recruiting for our National Office divisions in Washington, DC.
Field Offices
We are currently recruiting for our Division Counsel (Small Business/Self Employed) in the following cities: Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Greensboro, NC; Hartford, CT; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Laguna Niguel, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Nashville, TN; Newark, NJ; New Orleans, LA; New York (Manhattan), NY; Oklahoma City, OK; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; St. Paul, MN; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Thousand Oaks, CA; Westbury (Long Island), NY.
We are currently recruiting for our Division Counsel (Large Business & International) in the following cities: Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Laguna Niguel, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Newark, NJ; New York (Manhattan), NY; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Paul, MN; Washington, DC.
We are currently recruiting for our Office of the Division Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Criminal Tax) in the following cities: Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Salt Lake City, UT; Washington, DC.
We are currently recruiting for our Office of the Division Counsel (Tax Exempt & Government Entities) in the following cities: Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Greensboro, NC; Hartford, CT; Jacksonville, FL; Laguna Niguel, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Seattle, WA; Thousand Oaks, CA; Washington, DC.
Print preview to review the entire announcement before applying.
Your application includes your resume, transcript, writing sample, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. If you are using your GPA to qualify, you must include supporting documentation that confirms your GPA (for example, a transcript). If you are using your class ranking to qualify, you must include supporting documentation that confirms your class rank (for example, a document from your school showing your class rank, transcript, etc).
Please be sure that your package includes any necessary documentation to support your qualifications for this position, as failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a “not qualified” determination.
Only applicants who are attending law school or have attended law school are eligible to apply for this position. If you do not meet this criteria, your application will not be accepted.
The target start date for this position is Fall 2022.
Eligibility is limited to graduating law students who will graduate from law school between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 ("graduation date requirement") and recent law school graduates who began participating in eligibility preserving activities within 9 months of law school graduation. "Eligibility preserving activities" are full-time activities starting after law school graduation that can preserve a law school graduate’s eligibility for the Honors Program. The following are eligibility preserving activities: judicial clerkships, tax or accounting-related graduate programs (including Tax LL.M. programs), or qualifying legal fellowships. Qualifying legal fellowships must have a formal sponsor (e.g., a public service organization, a foundation, a bar association, a corporation, a law school, etc.), an established legal mission (e.g., purpose, type of work), and be publicly advertised as a fellowship at the time the candidate applied to the fellowship. Fellowships must also be of fixed duration ("bridge the gap" fellowships that require fellows to continue to seek other employment and terminate when the incumbent secures permanent legal employment do not qualify). Breaks between consecutive eligibility preserving activities cannot exceed 120 days. Participation in the eligibility preserving activity must be active through at least December 1 of the application year (may run later). Law school graduates who received their J.D. prior to October 1, 2018 ("eligibility cut-off date") are ineligible.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:
Class Rank Requirement:
JDs: Top 25% class rank or a GPA of 3.35 or higher is required (if the school does not provide class rank or a GPA at the time a selection is made, a LSAT score of 160 or higher is required), or
Tax LLMs: (including JD/Tax LLMs) who have completed any tax LLM coursework: must have a GPA of 3.25 or higher in the tax LLM program (if the tax LLM does not provide a GPA, a LSAT score of 160 or higher is required). If you have not completed any tax LLM coursework by the deadline for this announcement, then your class rank requirement will be based on your JD program. You must meet either the JD class rank requirement (top 25%) or the JD GPA requirement (3.35 or higher).
Must attend an ABA accredited law school; and
Must be a U.S. citizen.
Attributes of an Ideal Candidate:
Special high-level recognition for academic excellence in law school, such as selection to Order of the Coif or receipt of the American Jurisprudence Award in related courses; or top grades in tax or related course work (e.g., “A” grades in tax courses);
Evidence of background or experience in the position to be filled, such as taking relevant law school classes (e.g., tax law, bankruptcy/debtor creditor law, administrative law) or relevant legal or tax experience (e.g., tax legal experience) or relevant tax volunteer experience (e.g., VITA, Tax Clinic);
Work or achievement in the law school’s law review or other recognized law journal;
Winning a moot court or mock trial competition or membership on a moot court or mock trial team
Education
You must have graduated with a J.D. and/or a Tax LL.M. from an ABA-accredited law school before you begin the Honors Program position.
Additional information
Relocation expenses are not authorized.
We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Positions may be filled in one or more of the cities indicated in the announcement. We take into consideration applicants’ stated preferences to join a particular division/associate office and/or to be assigned to a particular office location. However, we may be limited in accommodating applicants’ stated preferences based on the needs of our organization to fill necessary open positions. As such, applicants who are selected for hire will be provided just one offer from our organization only with respect to the Honors Program. Upon selection to be hired as part of this Honors Program, you may be provided one or more options to join specific operating divisions/associate offices and/or work locations.
A one-year trial period is required.
Candidates need to execute an employment tenure commitment, generally for a 3 year period.
Must successfully complete a background investigation.
Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, please certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
Undergo an income tax verification.
The employment of any candidate, including a current employee or a new hire, selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to two years of returns.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Our comprehensive benefits are very generous. Our benefits package includes:
Challenging work, opportunities for advancement, competitive salaries, bonuses, and incentive awards.
Eleven paid holidays, 13 days of sick leave, and 13 to 26 days of vacation time each year.
Opportunities for telework and flexible work schedules.
Access to insurance programs that may be continued after you retire.
A wide choice of health insurance plans, coverage for pre-existing conditions, and no waiting periods. We pay a substantial amount (up to 75%) of the health insurance premiums.
A retirement program which includes employer-matching contributions.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Rating: Your application will be evaluated using the requirements in the qualifications section.
Referral: Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of the referral list and considered before non-preference-eligibles. All other candidates will be listed below those with preference. If you are among the top qualified candidates, you may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview, such as travel to and from the interview site.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Our comprehensive benefits are very generous. Our benefits package includes:
Challenging work, opportunities for advancement, competitive salaries, bonuses, and incentive awards.
Eleven paid holidays, 13 days of sick leave, and 13 to 26 days of vacation time each year.
Opportunities for telework and flexible work schedules.
Access to insurance programs that may be continued after you retire.
A wide choice of health insurance plans, coverage for pre-existing conditions, and no waiting periods. We pay a substantial amount (up to 75%) of the health insurance premiums.
A retirement program which includes employer-matching contributions.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
An official or unofficial transcript from your law school (an official copy will be required if you are selected)
An unedited writing sample (5-10 pages in length)
Supporting documentation as applicable
Please note that if you do not provide all required information as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view resume tips.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Office of Chief Counsel considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. If you are claiming veterans’ preference, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference, view https://www.fedshirevets.gov/veteran-employees/veterans-preference/#content.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date. Treasury provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
To begin, either click the Create a New Account button and follow the prompts to register or if you previously registered, click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts.
You will be re-directed to Treasury’s CareerConnector system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, click one of the available options; Upload; Fax; or Reuse existing documents. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN). Also, go to My Account to view and update your information as necessary.
To complete, you must click the Finish button located at the bottom of the Application Review page.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
If you are experiencing system issues with your application, please contact the CareerConnector Help Desk at c
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
1111 Constitution Ave. NW
Room 6422
Washington, District of Columbia 20224
United States
Next steps
You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS My Account tab and clicking on Application Status. The "additional application information" link may not be available if your application status says "Unavailable." This indicates that your application is not complete. If the "additional application information" link is not available and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to the CareerConnector portion of the application. For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on more information. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
An official or unofficial transcript from your law school (an official copy will be required if you are selected)
An unedited writing sample (5-10 pages in length)
Supporting documentation as applicable
Please note that if you do not provide all required information as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view resume tips.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Office of Chief Counsel considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. If you are claiming veterans’ preference, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference, view https://www.fedshirevets.gov/veteran-employees/veterans-preference/#content.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date. Treasury provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
To begin, either click the Create a New Account button and follow the prompts to register or if you previously registered, click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts.
You will be re-directed to Treasury’s CareerConnector system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, click one of the available options; Upload; Fax; or Reuse existing documents. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN). Also, go to My Account to view and update your information as necessary.
To complete, you must click the Finish button located at the bottom of the Application Review page.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
If you are experiencing system issues with your application, please contact the CareerConnector Help Desk at c
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
1111 Constitution Ave. NW
Room 6422
Washington, District of Columbia 20224
United States
Next steps
You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS My Account tab and clicking on Application Status. The "additional application information" link may not be available if your application status says "Unavailable." This indicates that your application is not complete. If the "additional application information" link is not available and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to the CareerConnector portion of the application. For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on more information. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
