Duties

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 specializing in labor and employment law.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

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 Summer Legal Program provides exposure to the Office by enabling law students to work under the supervision, and with the assistance of, experienced labor and employment lawyers. The training and work experience provides developmental assignments and helps prepare law students for a career as a labor and employment law lawyer and gives them an excellent view of what the practice of law is like at the Office of Chief Counsel. Law students typically take part in a variety of educational and social events. 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. The target start date for this position is Summer 2021. This program has been established in accordance with 5 CFR 213.3102(r).

Current law students who have completed at least one full year of legal study by the application deadline are eligible to apply (part-time law students must be currently attending law school and have completed the equivalent of one year of full-time study by the application deadline). Most applicants participate the summer between their second and third year of law school; however, graduating law students who enter a judicial clerkship or a relevant graduate program (including LL.M. programs) may participate the summer following graduation prior to the start of the judicial clerkship or graduate program. If you are applying for, but have not yet accepted a judicial clerkship or been accepted into a relevant graduate program, you should consider applying to both the Honors Program and Summer Legal Program. Applicants must be available to accept full-time post-JD employment by September 30, 2022 to be eligible.

The Office of Associate Chief Counsel, General Legal Services ("GLS") employs approximately 65 attorneys nationwide working in its National Office and three Program Branches in Washington, D.C., and its six Area Counsel Offices.

GLS has one (1) paid Summer Legal Intern position for the Summer of 2021, and will be filled in the following location: Washington, DC.

GLS Area Counsel Offices provide legal advice and represent the IRS and Office of Chief Counsel in litigation on various federal labor and employment issues involving personnel, discrimination, and labor-management relations before fora such as the Merit Systems Protection Board, Federal Labor Relations Authority, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in arbitration. GLS provides litigation support to the Department of Justice with respect to these labor and personnel issues, Bivens suits, and other miscellaneous non-tax suits filed in their geographic areas.

Additional information about GLS is available on the Chief Counsel web page at https://www.jobs.irs.gov/resources/job-descriptions/legal-divisions .

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Limited travel may be required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
09

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Please refer to conditions of employment.
• Print preview to review the entire announcement before applying.

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, as failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

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 minimum GPA of 3.35 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);
• 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 classes related to the position to be filled;
• Evidence of background or experience in the position to be filled, such as taking relevant law school classes and/or participation in law school clinics;
• 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 be enrolled in a J.D. program or have graduated with a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school.

Additional information

• 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.
• Relocation expenses are not authorized.
• Must successfully complete a fingerprint clearance and/or 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.
• May 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.

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.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Complete application packages include:

• A resume
• 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)
• Form 6524, "Office of Chief Counsel Application" (must be submitted to determine if you meet the minimum criteria)

A copy of Form 6524 may be downloaded at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/resources/job-descriptions/apply-office-chief-counsel

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: 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 .

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.