IRS Office of Chief Counsel - Job Posting

Application Deadline: Thursday, August 7, 2014

How to apply:  See below, but you will be emailing your application packets directly to me at hla3@uw.edu.

 

Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service

With the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) as its client and around 1,500 attorneys on staff, the Office of Chief Counsel is the preeminent employer of tax attorneys in the country.  In addition, our General Legal Services Division hires attorneys for non-tax positions, as well. Our attorneys are valued assets and the legal experience provided in Chief Counsel is unlike any other. We have approximately 600 attorneys located in our National Office in Washington, DC and 900 attorneys in field offices throughout the US.

 

Chief Counsel attorneys provide top-quality legal advice and representation to the IRS in the administration of the nation's tax laws. Chief Counsel field attorneys litigate interesting and challenging issues that range from taxation of individuals to complex international entities. Attorneys in the field find themselves working on exciting and challenging issues involving litigation, corporate law, criminal tax law, disclosure law and international taxation.

 

Chief Counsel attorneys in the National Office draft regulations and rulings, and provide legal guidance to taxpayers, the IRS and the Treasury and Justice Departments.  Attorneys have an extraordinary opportunity to develop expertise and sharpen technical skills. Furthermore, both field and National Office attorneys have the opportunity to work with a variety of tax practitioners and distinguish themselves within the greater tax and legal communities.

 

Working as an attorney for the Office of Chief Counsel offers a unique opportunity to serve the public interest by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the Federal tax laws without bias in favor of either the taxpayer or the government.

 

In addition, one of our business units, General Legal Services, focuses on personnel and labor law. This business unit is the part of Chief Counsel responsible for providing legal advice on, and litigating, non-tax administrative law issues such as EEO matters, labor and employee relations, personnel matters, ethics, procurement, fiscal and appropriations law and laws relating to information technology management. 

 

Honors Program

The Honors Program is available primarily to third-year law students and graduating Tax LLM students who have less than one year of post-JD legal work experience. Our entry-level positions provide the opportunity to acquire significant training and experience in tax law (or personnel and labor law in our General Legal Services Division). Honors Program positions at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel are open to individuals each year who have superior academic qualifications or relevant experience to the work of Chief Counsel. Appointments under the Honors Program are made at GS-11, Step 8 for JD applicants, and at GS-12, Step 4 for LLM applicants.  These positions are available in our offices nationwide.

 

Summer Legal Program

The Office of Chief Counsel’s Summer Legal Program is available to second-year law students. The program provides exposure to the Office by enabling law students to work under the supervision, and with the assistance of, experienced tax lawyers (or personnel and labor attorneys in our General Legal Services Division). The training and work experience provides developmental assignments and helps prepare law students for a career as a tax lawyer and gives them an excellent view of what the practice of law is like at the Office of Chief Counsel. In the National Office, law students typically take part in a variety of educational and social events, as well as interagency tours and presentations. Offers of full-time employment with our Honors Program may be made to summer law students at the conclusion of the program. It is anticipated students will work for us the full summer. Summer positions are available to second year law students at the GS-9, Step 1 level, and positions are available in our offices nationwide. This program has been established in accordance with 5 CFR 213.3102(r). 

 

 

Minimum Criteria for Both Programs (must meet this criteria to be considered):         

·         Class Rank Requirement:

1. For JDs: Top 20% class rank required (if school does not provide class rank information allowing us to determine if a student is in the top 20%, such as individual class rank or honors for students in a certain percentage of the class, at the time a selection is made, then a minimum GPA of 3.4 is required; if the school does not provide class rank or GPA at the time a selection is made, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required) or
2. For Tax LLMs (including JD/LLMs) who have completed any LLM coursework: Must satisfy the JD class rank requirement above or have a minimum GPA of 3.3 in the LLM program (if the LLM program does not provide GPAs, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required);

·         Must attend an ABA accredited law school; and

·         Must be a US 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

 

Chief Counsel Office Locations

Birmingham, AL; Phoenix, AZ; Laguna Niguel, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Oakland, CA; Sacramento, CA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Thousand Oaks, CA; Denver, CO; Hartford, CT; Washington, DC; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Miami, FL; Atlanta, GA; Honolulu, HI; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY; New Orleans, LA; Boston, MA; Baltimore, MD; Detroit, MI; St. Paul, MN; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; Omaha, NE; Las Vegas, NV; Newark, NJ; Buffalo, NY; Long Island, NY; New York, NY; Greensboro, NC; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Oklahoma City, OK; Portland, OR; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Nashville, TN; Austin, TX; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; Richmond, VA; Seattle, WA; Milwaukee, WI

 

How to Apply
Complete application packages include:

-       a resume

-       a transcript from your law school (an unofficial copy is fine)

-       unedited writing sample (5-10 pages in length)

-       Form 6524, “Office of Chief Counsel Application” (must be submitted to determine if you meet the minimum criteria)

-       Form OF-306, “Declaration for Federal Employment.”

 

Copies of the Forms 6524 and OF-306 may be downloaded from our website at http://jobs.irs.gov/student/office-chief-counsel.html. All application materials should be emailed to Heather Alhadeff at hla3@uw.edu. If your school does not allow you to upload the Office of Chief Counsel Application, please e-mail it in advance to attyapplications@irscounsel.treas.gov.  Any materials not previously submitted should be brought to the interview.

Veterans’ Preference Documentation
If you are applying under the Veteran 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 required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. An SF-15 may be found at http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf. For more information on veterans' preference, please go to http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx