Summary
Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, seeks enthusiastic individuals to serve 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 IRS. To learn more, click the links below: IRS Office of Chief Counsel Careers Site Meet Our People Learn about our Legal Divisions
Duties
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel's Honors Program is a highly competitive program available primarily to graduating or recently graduated LL.M. students. The program offers entry level positions that provide the opportunity to acquire significant training and experience in the assigned area. The positions are open to individuals each year who have superior academic qualifications or relevant experience to the work of the Office of Chief Counsel. Appointments will be made to a Law Clerk at the GS-12 for 14 months. Participants may be converted to an entry level Attorney position after admittance to a State Bar and demonstration of satisfactory employment during the interim period of 14 months from original appointment. As a Law Clerk/Attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel, you will work for Associate Chief Counsel, General Legal Service (GLS). GLS employs approximately 76 attorneys and 7 paralegals, and has both Field Office Divisions and a National Office component. Whether you are in a field office or National Office position, you will receive substantial training and responsibility. GLS serves as in-house counsel to the IRS and the Office of Chief Counsel and provides legal services over a broad spectrum of non-tax matters, including labor and employment, ethics, fiscal, appropriations, procurement, contracts, technology, and other general government matters. As a customer-focused organization, we provide our clients with the highest quality legal advice and advocacy to minimize legal risks, reduce litigation exposure, promote legal compliance, and advance our clients' objectives. We are one GLS. We embrace teamwork and embody our core values: United in Purpose, Committed to Excellence, and Dedicated to Each Other. National Office: Claims, Labor & Personnel Law (CLP): Attorneys in CLP provide legal advice and representation on a wide variety of complex issues, including labor-management relations, personnel, and EEO matters; the interpretation of civil service laws and regulations; government representation; the Federal Tort Claims Act; and other related "non-tax" matters. CLP also provides program coordination to Field Office Divisions in all of these matters. Ethics & General Government Law (EGG): Attorneys in EGG provide ethics opinions, advice, and training on issues arising under the federal conflict-of-interest statutes, related government-wide and agency-specific regulations, and other rules. EGG also issues advisory opinions to agency officials on non-tax laws, regulations, and decisions governing the management of federal agencies with respect to matters such as appropriations and fiscal law, delegations of authority, records and property management, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, intellectual property, and a wide range of other general government issues. Public Contracts & Technology Law (PCTL): Attorneys in PCTL provide advice on complex legal issues on a wide variety of procurement matters involving the interpretation of applicable laws and regulations; advise on contract formation and administration, licensing and intellectual property issues, interagency agreements and memoranda of understanding, and handle litigation before the Government Accountability Office and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals. Field Offices: Attorneys in the GLS Field Offices provide advice, support, and litigation representation for IRS and Chief Counsel management in administrative fora, with the majority of case work centering on labor, equal employment opportunity (EEO), and personnel law and assisting the Department of Justice in federal courts on such matters, as well as for suits against IRS employees, and may assist with processing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. CLP Branch and Area Counsel Field Offices: GLS is recruiting in the CLP Branch and the following Field Office locations: Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Farmers Branch (Dallas Office), TX; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC. Target Start Date: August - September 2027 Please note, you will not receive an application status update or communication from the hiring office until early 2027.
Education
All applicants must be attending or graduated from an ABA-accredited law school. 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. FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).
How you will be evaluated
Applicants will be considered based on their overall background as it relates to the position to be filled. Interviews may be held at the option of the office. All application materials and interviews, if conducted, will be used in the final evaluation and selection process. 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. 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.