Duties

Summary

With the Internal Revenue Service as its client and 1,500 attorneys on staff, the Office of Chief Counsel is the preeminent employer for tax attorneys in the country. Our attorneys are valued assets and the legal experience provided by Chief Counsel is unlike any other. Chief Counsel attorneys provide top quality legal advice and representation to the IRS in the administration of the nation's tax laws.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

What is Procedure and Administration? The Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration) provides legal advice and litigation support services on tax matters involving the procedural aspects of filing returns and paying taxes; information reporting; assessment and collection of taxes (including interest and penalties); abating, crediting or refunding over-assessments or overpayments of tax; whistleblower matters; disclosure, privacy and the Freedom of Information Act; bankruptcy practice and procedure; summonses and the gathering of information; ethics; the Administrative Procedure Act; Foreign Bank Account Reporting; user fees; and judicial practice and procedures. Within the scope of PA's subject matter, attorneys may draft Treasury regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, letter rulings and Actions on Decision; prepare or review suit defense, appeal, and settlement recommendations to the Department of Justice; review briefs, motions and other pleadings filed in the United States Tax Court; or advise the Internal Revenue Service with respect to the administration of the federal tax laws.


The following are the duties of this position at the GS-14. If you are selected at a lower level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As an attorney, you will:

• Serve as counsel to the IRS Commissioner and furnish legal advice and representation on matters relating to federal tax practice and procedure matters as they affect the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws.
• Handle other Federal Tax Practice and Procedure matters relating to returns, filing, payment of taxes, assessment, information reporting, collection, refunds, audits, interest, penalties, whistleblower matters, ethics, summons, disclosure, privacy and judicial doctrines.
• Provide legal assistance to other attorneys in Chief Counsel and the Department of Justice concerning litigation in the United States Tax Court, federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, bankruptcy courts, courts of appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court on federal tax practice and procedure issues.
• Develop expertise in one or more specific areas of federal tax practice and procedure.

Because of its tax-related mission , the Office of Chief Counsel requires fingerprinting, tax verification, and background security investigation as part of the pre-employment process.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Please refer to "Conditions of Employment".
• Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Applications will accepted on-line via Career Connector.
• If unable to apply on-line please contact careerconnectorhelp@do.treas.gov

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

PLEASE NOTE: The J.D. and/or the LL.M must be from an ABA-accredited law school.

For GS-12: Possess a J.D. and at least one year of general legal experience comparable to the GS-11 level OR Possess a J.D. and an LL.M.

For GS-13: Possess a J.D. and 1 year of general legal experience plus 1 year of legal tax experience comparable to the GS-12 level Or an LL.M. plus 1 year of legal tax experience comparable to the GS-12 level.

For GS-14: Possess a J.D. and 1 year of general legal experience, plus 2 years of legal tax experience (1 year of legal tax experience must have been comparable to the GS-13 level) Or an LL.M. plus 2 years of legal tax experience (1 year of legal tax experience must have been comparable to the GS-13 level).

LL.M. degree in the field of the positon may be substituted for one year of the general experience listed above.

Specialized experience for GS-13 and GS-14: At least 52 weeks of the legal tax experience must involve Federal Tax Practice and Procedure issues referred to in the Procedure and Administration duty statement described in the vacancy announcement which included assignments involving complex and difficult legal questions requiring extensive research, analysis, and evaluation.

• Candidates must be admitted to practice law before the highest court of a state or territory of the United States; the District of Columbia; or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and be an active member by the closing date of the announcement.
• The professional legal experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or Volunteer Service . One year of experience refers to full-time workafter admitted to the Bar; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis.
• To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

Education

Additional information

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• A 1-year trial period is required..
• Must successfully complete a public trust 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, 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 2 years of returns.

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 experience/education defined under the requirement section.

Referral: Professional Order will be used to refer and select eligible candidates. Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of the certificate in alphabetical order and considered before non-preference-eligibles. All other candidates will be listed in alphabetical order and 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.
To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. 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 .

In addition, applicants are required to submit: 1) An unofficial or official transcript(s), and 2) An 8-10 page legal writing sample.

If selected, you will be required to submit proof of bar membership.

EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page .

If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.

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 FedsHireVets .

Contact Information:

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

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.