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. Please click "Learn more about this agency" to find out more about Chief Counsel's various offices, to view some of the workplace attributes that Chief Counsel's workforce rates most favorably, and to hear from employees themselves.
Duties
The incumbent of this position serves as a senior docket attorney in the Criminal Tax Division assigned to an Area Counsel (Criminal Tax) providing legal counsel to IRS Criminal Investigation (Cl). The attorney specializes in assisting CI with investigations and prosecutions of violations of the internal revenue laws, the Bank Secrecy Act, money laundering statutes, and other federal criminal violations; special investigative techniques employed by Cl; and criminal and civil forfeitures initiated by the IRS. The incumbent may also be assigned to cases requiring provision of legal counsel to one or more IRS Divisions (Large Business & International, Tax Exempt & Government Entities, Small Business/Self Employed, and Wage & Investment) and other Counsel and IRS offices which are responsible for serving specific groups of taxpayers.
As a General Attorney (Criminal Tax), you will:
- Assists and advises Cl Special Agents in Charge and their agents in ongoing and completed criminal investigations, both administrative and grand jury.
- Reviews completed criminal tax investigation cases where criminal prosecution is recommended.
- Prepares an evaluation of the report and the evidence which summarizes the salient facts, analyzes whether the evidence proves the elements of each recommended charge, assesses the strengths and weaknesses (including possible defenses) of the case, and renders an opinion on the prosecution potential of the recommended charges.
- Reviews and opines on Cl seizure warrants and renders ongoing advice on criminal and civil asset forfeitures.
- Serves as the IRS attorney in cases under the jurisdiction of the prosecutive authorities.
- Performs duties, as approved and monitored by the Area Counsel (Criminal Tax), that may be assigned to any other attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel regardless of function.
This is an open-continuous/standing register announcement that is open 06/27/2024 to 12/31/2024. Applicants will be referred to the selecting officials and referral lists issued as vacancies occur.
Cutoff for receipt of applications will be midnight EST on the date a vacancy has been determined. Applications received after that date, may be considered on future referral lists. Notifications will be sent to applicants when application has been referred or not referred. The announcement may close prior to 12/31/2024, if management has succeeded in filling all vacancies and has no further use for a standing register.
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 detailed below by the closing date of this announcement. 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 (Criminal Tax) you must meet the qualification requirements listed below at the time of referral or by the closing of this announcement, whichever is first:
Basic Requirements for General Attorney (Criminal 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-14 Experience Requirements:
- 1 year of general professional legal experience from any area of expertise; plus
- 2 year(s) of professional legal tax experience
Professional Legal Tax Experience is defined as: Presenting evidence before a federal or state grand jury in a criminal tax or financial crimes case; trying a criminal tax or financial crimes case before a federal or state petit jury; prosecuting or defending criminal tax or financial crimes offenses; engaging in motion practice relating to the Federal Rules of Evidence or the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; drafting or providing legal advice relating to search warrant applications; experience prosecuting or defending criminal or civil forfeiture actions, or money laundering or Bank Secrecy Act violations; providing legal advice relating to undercover operations, or the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as they relate to criminal tax programs. 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 (GS-13).
Note: Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Professional Legal Experience.
Education Substitution: An LL.M. degree in the field of this position (i.e. tax) 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.
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 .
In addition, applicants are required to submit:
- An unofficial or official transcript(s) for your J.D. degree or LL.M. degree (an official transcript is required if you are selected)
- An 8-10 page legal writing sample
- A memorandum of interest summarizing your interest in the position
- A copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application
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.
Certificate of Good Standing: A certified original copy of your certificate of good standing from your State Bar will be required if you are selected.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 , along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference, view .