Duties

Summary

WHAT IS THE OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY DIVISION? The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) mission is to interpret and apply the standards of practice for tax professionals in a fair and equitable manner. OPR ensures the integrity and credibility of the American tax system by working through tax professionals and with IRS operating divisions and functions.

See Other Information for Locations

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

WHAT DOES AN ATTORNEY-ADVISOR DO? You will serve as a legal expert on matters (e.g. cases, projects) under the jurisdiction of the office to which assigned, acting as consultant to the Chief, Legal Analysis Branch of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). As such, the incumbent must perform duties that fall into two main categories of work: (1) case or project work in which the incumbent is responsible for personally carrying out a variety of research, advisory, analysis, and review functions to handle, resolve specific case issues under the jurisdiction of the office with decision-making and review signatory responsibility for final product outcome as delegated by the manager; and (2) program responsibilities in which the incumbent is responsible for assisting in efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of office programs and services by providing support in the coordination, liaison, and or strategic planning of the office's work activities.

As an Attorney-Advisor you will:

• Reviews individual case files of derogatory information regarding practice before the Internal Revenue Service.
• Reviews appeals for determinations of ineligibility to engage in limited practice before the Internal Revenue Service under Revenue Procedure and makes recommendations for the disposition thereof.
• Conducts legal research into the applicable rules, regulations and decisions, and prepares legal memoranda and legal analysis of fact situations concerning the enrollment of individuals who practice before the Internal Revenue Service and disbarment, suspension and reprimand of attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents and enrolled actuaries who practice before the Internal Revenue Service.
• Drafts regulations, prepares formal complaints to initiate proceedings before an administrative law judge, stipulations, and other documents having legal implications.
• Responsible for the conduct of conference with practitioners held pursuant to the regulations and assists the Unit Manager and other attorneys in the performance of legal, adjudicative, administrative and other related duties necessary for the office to perform its mission.
• Provides technical guidance and support to IRS legal counsel, appeals officers, paralegals, and other OPR /RPO attorneys on the legal matters associated with the disbarment, suspension and reprimand of attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents and enrolled actuaries who practice before the Internal Revenue Service.

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

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? If you want to find out more about IRS careers, visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov

Travel Required

25% or less - TRAVEL NIGHTS PER MONTH: 1 TO 5

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• This is a Excepted Service Appotintment position.
• Please refer to Other Information
• IRS Employees on Excepted Appointments (Attorneys) [IF APPLICABLE]
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National

-

Qualifications

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

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: (All grade levels):
You must be a graduate, with an LL.M. or J.D. from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association, or a State Accredited Law School, and be a member in good standing of the bar of a State, Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Professional experience following law school will be given appropriate consideration.

In addition to the basic requirement, you must meet the following:

GS-13 LEVEL: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience working with Federal tax laws, including Internal Revenue Code, Income Tax Regulations, IRS Revenue rulings and procedures and precedent decisions, or other areas related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience in or related to preparing, reviewing, or applying rulings, advisory letters, memoranda, etc. You may have experience analyzing and adjudicating tax matters, appeals, settlement offers, or similar work related to Federal tax operations; work as an attorney or tax attorney that requires legal research, analysis, and preparation of briefs or similar documents interpreting laws and regulations; or work as an attorney or tax attorney that required application of the Internal Revenue Code and related laws.

GS-14 LEVEL: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience working with Federal tax laws, including Internal Revenue Code, Income Tax Regulations, IRS Revenue rulings and procedures and precedent decisions, or other areas related to the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience in or related to preparing, reviewing, or applying rulings, advisory letters, memoranda, etc. You may have experience analyzing and adjudicating tax matters, appeals, settlement offers, or similar work related to Federal tax operations; work as an attorney or tax attorney that requires legal research, analysis, and preparation of briefs or similar documents interpreting laws and regulations; or work as an attorney or tax attorney that required application of the Internal Revenue Code and related laws.

You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination will be identified in the online questions.

-The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service . One year of experience refers to full-time work; 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.

In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following, if applicable:
You must have been at the next lower grade level of the grade you are applying to for 52 weeks (time-in-grade requirement).

Education

Additional information

**AMENDED ANNOUNCEMENT** - to correct AREA OF CONSIDERATION and WHO CAN APPLY. The present announcement is open to INTERNAL IRS employees ONLY. Please refer to Conditions of Employment for additional information. CLOSING DATE POSTPONED UNTIL 10/21/2021.

Two (2) positions to be filled in OPR, LEGAL ANALYSIS BRANCH TEAM 2 located in 1111 CONSTITUTION AVE NW, WASHINGTON, DC, 20224 (DC0022).

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS 93349 for GS-13 and 93350 for GS-14

A PM/C SharePoint site is available for IRS Employees at: https://organization.ds.irsnet.gov/sites/HCOETS/PMC/SPDLibrary/SitePages/Home.aspx

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
• This is a bargaining unit position.
• Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours or telework may be available.
• Must meet IRS telework eligibility requirements
• Tour of Duty: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
• 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.
• This is an Excepted service position. In accordance with 5 CFR 302.12, if you currently hold a position in the competitive service and are selected for and accept the Attorney position in the excepted service, you must sign a Notification and Acknowledgment indicating that you voluntarily relinquish the competitive position you currently hold.
• This is a TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT 12 month NTE Detail only. It will NOT BE EXTENDED and WILL NOT BE MADE PERMANENT.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

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.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated on the competencies of the position to be filled per the IRS Merit Promotion Plan in the following areas: Legal, Government and Jurisprudence, Oral Communication/Speaking, Reading, Reasoning, Writing. Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. IRS employees may obtain most recent awards listing at https://persinfo.web.irs.gov/

Your rating may be lowered, if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

Referral: You will be assigned to one of three quality groups. Each group represents a quality level (i.e., Superior/Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, Qualified). Candidates will be considered in quality group order. If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring polices). We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced or surplus Treasury employee eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) , you must receive a score of HIGHLY QUALIFIED or better to be rated as well qualified to receive special selection priority.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

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 will 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

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) DOCUMENTATION
If you are a displaced or surplus Treasury employee, click CTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents. IRS CTAP eligibles can apply for jobs within and outside the commuting area.

IRS Reassignment Preference Program (RPP)
You must meet the requirements in your RPP notice. Submit a copy of your RPP Notice along with a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal. Your performance appraisal must have a fully successful or higher overall rating.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL/AWARDS
Submit a copy of your most recent completed performance appraisal.

IRS employees: if a revalidated appraisal is used for merit promotion, the supervisor must prepare a narrative for each critical job element that does not have a narrative describing the performance in the appraisal period covered by the rating. Note: If you are a manager or management official, your most recent annual performance appraisal must be used for the overall rating identified.

EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION
If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. If the position has specific education requirements and you are currently (or have previously been) in the Federal job series to be filled, there is no need to submit a transcript or equivalent at this time. 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 .

BAR MEMBERSHIP DOCUMENTATION
Copy of Active Bar Membership showing good standing in at least one State, a Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

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.