Job 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

Job Description

Who May Apply: Law School Students or Recent Law School Graduates who are eligible for participation in the IRS Chief Counsel Honors Program AND who have been admitted to a State Bar: Students pursuing a Tax LL.M. who will graduate from an ABA accredited law school by the Graduation Requirement Date: September 30, 2026 OR Recent Law School Graduates from an ABA accredited law school who within 9 months of graduating law school began participating in eligibility preserving activities. Law school graduates who received their J.D. prior to October 1, 2022, are ineligible. Eligibility Preserving Activities are defined as: Full-time activities starting after law school graduation that can preserve a law school graduate's eligibility for the Honors Program. The following are eligibility preserving activities: judicial clerkships, tax or accounting-related graduate programs (including Tax LL.M. programs) or qualifying legal fellowships. Qualifying legal fellowships must have a formal sponsor (e.g., a public service organization, a foundation, a bar association, a corporation, a law school, etc.), an established legal mission (e.g., purpose, type of work), and be publicly advertised as a fellowship at the time the candidate applied to the fellowship. Breaks between consecutive eligibility preserving activities cannot exceed 120 days. Participation in the eligibility preserving activity must be active through at least December 1 of the program year (may run later). To qualify for this position of Honors General Attorney (Tax), you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement: Basic Requirements for Honors General Attorney (Tax): Possess at least the first professional law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND Applicants must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. To qualify for the Honors General Attorney (Tax) at the GS-12 grade level, you must be a LL.M. candidate/graduate AND meet one of the following by the closing date of the announcement: A class ranking in the top 25% of J.D. program AND/OR a J.D. cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher. A class ranking in the top 25% of your class in the LL.M. program AND/OR a LL.M. cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher. If neither J.D. nor LL.M. program has class rank or GPA, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required. To qualify for the Honors General Attorney (Tax) at the GS-13 grade level, you must be a LL.M. candidate/graduate, possess one year of professional legal tax experience, AND meet one of the following by the closing date of the announcement: A class ranking in the top 25% of J.D. program AND/OR a J.D. cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher. A class ranking in the top 25% of your class in the LL.M. program AND/OR a LL.M. cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher. If neither J.D. nor LL.M. program has class rank or GPA, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required. One year of professional legal tax experience is defined as performing legal research and/or providing legal guidance in federal tax controversy, federal tax litigation, or federal tax consulting. One year of professional legal tax experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade level/position in the federal service (GS-12). Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Professional Legal Experience. Attributes of an Ideal Candidate are: 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. Applicants Not Admitted to a State Bar: Applicants who have not been accepted into a State Bar are not eligible to apply to the Honors General Attorney (Tax) Program and may apply to the following Honors Program (Law Clerk) announcement for consideration: GS-11 Law Clerk - CCCM-26-12870084-HON-SR; GS-12 Law Clerk - CCCM-26-12870095-HON-SR.