Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, is looking for hundreds of experienced and enthusiastic individuals to join our team and gain valuable experience in a legal environment. 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 IRS. It is a great place to work with an excellent benefits package and family-friendly atmosphere.

Duties

As a Chief Counsel trial attorney, the incumbent is assigned to a group providing legal counsel to Small Business/Self Employed (SBSE) and other Counsel and IRS activities, which are responsible for serving specific groups of taxpayers. Chief Counsel trial attorneys represent the government in Tax Court and provide advice to IRS field staff on issues in which Service position is established. Trial attorneys in the SB/SE organization specialize in tax litigations in the U.S. Tax Court, primarily involving tax issues impacting individuals, including individuals, including individual international tax issues, partnerships, S corporations, LLCs, LLPs, estate and gift, and whistleblower awards.

As a General Attorney (Tax), you will:

• Receive assignments of the most difficult and complex types of work in one or more of the following functions within the office depending upon the specialty of tax to which assigned-Tax Litigation or General Litigation.
• Tax Litigation- You will be assigned cases docketed in the United States Tax Court. Duties may include preparation of answers to petitions, replies, motions and any other documents germane to proper handling of the case.
• Assignment of a case pending in the Tax Court also includes responsibility for ascertaining the legal correctness of the position(s) determined in the statutory notice of deficiency as well as preparation for the case for trial and settlement.
• Provides legal advice and assistance to the IRS, Independent Offices Appeals and other Division Counsel concerning issues within their area of topical jurisdiction. Researches, analyzes facts and writes legal opinions in response to questions.
• For District Court and Claims Court: Reviews pleadings and files and prepares defense letter to the Department of Justice, Tax Division, setting out the Commissioner’s position on defense of a suit involving merits of the tax, etc., including in appropriate cases, discussing the propriety of jurisdiction, any suggested motions that may be appropriate, the particular defense that is recommended and whether or not the case is one that the Department of Justice may settle without further coordination.
• For General Litigation work the incumbent: Furnishes advice and opinions to the IRS, the Department of Justice, etc., in any matter (court and non-court) incident to the assessment and collection of taxes. Advises field administrative officers, handles the legal work, and assists the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys in cases involving tax matters. Recommends what suits should be brought or interventions or counterclaims filed by the Government in connection with the collection of internal revenue taxes or the recovery of erroneous refunds thereof and the basis for defense of tax litigation suits against the United States.

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

NOTE: This is an open-continuous announcement that is open January 19, 2022 to June 30, 2022. Applicants will be referred to the selecting officials and referral lists issued as vacancies occur.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Refer to “Additional Information”
• Click “Print Preview” to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

To qualify for this position of General Attorney (Tax) you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement:

Basic Requirements for General Attorney (Tax) :

• Possess at least the first professional law degree (LL.B. or 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;

GS-12 Experience Requirements:

• 1 year of general legal experience

GS-13 Experience Requirements:

• 1 year of general legal experience; plus
• 1 year(s) of legal tax experience

GS-14 Experience Requirements:

• 1 year of general legal experience; plus
• 2 year(s) of legal tax experience

GS-13 and GS-14- Legal tax experience is defined as: Professional legal tax experience in federal tax controversy, federal tax litigation, or federal tax consulting. At least one year of this experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service for the grade you are applying to.

Education Substitution: An LL.M. degree in the field of the position may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. 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.

Education

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.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

• We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
• Relocation expenses are not authorized.
• This is aBargainingUnit position.
• We offer opportunities for telework.
• We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
• The salary range indicated in this announcement covers multiple locality areas. Your salary will be adjusted based on the post of duty for which you are selected.

Conditions of Employment Continued:

• Subject to a 1-year trial period (unless already completed).
• Must successfully complete a 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 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.

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.

Bargaining Unit Chief Counsel employees will be given first consideration. To receive first consideration, Bargaining Unit Chief Counsel employees seeking reassignment must be on the Master First Consideration List (MFCL). In regard to this announcement, the MFCL is only for reassignments of employees currently occupying Bargaining Unit positions. If you are applying for a promotion, please apply to the announcement.

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) for your J.D. degree or LL.M. degree (an official transcript is required if you are selected); 2. An 8-10 page legal writing sample; and 3. A memorandum of interest summarizing your interest in the position.

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 position 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.

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. See “Education” for more details.

If selected, you will be required to submit an original Certificate of Good Standing from your State Bar.

How to Apply

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 06/30/2022 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 7:30am-3:30pm MST, Monday – Friday). To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11354653

• To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
• Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
• After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
• You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
• It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
• Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.

Next steps

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.