Law Clerk (Non-Tax) - Honors Attorney Program (2026)

Full Job Description

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 Who May Apply: Law School Students and Recent Law School Graduates who are eligible for participation in the IRS Chief Counsel Honors Program Students pursuing a LL.M.

who will graduate from an ABA accredited law school by the Graduation Requirement Date: September 30, 2026; OR Recent LL.M.

Graduates from an ABA accredited law school, who, within 9 months of graduating law school, began participating in eligibility preserving activities.

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, graduate programs (including 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). Law school graduates who received their J.D.

prior to October 1, 2022 are ineligible.

To qualify for this position of Honors Program Law Clerk you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement: Basic Requirements for Honors Program Law Clerk: Must attend a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.

To qualify for the Law Clerk 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. *Students pursuing a LL.M.

who will not graduate from an ABA accredited law school prior to September 30, 2026, may apply to the GS-11 Law Clerk announcement: CCCM-26-12868882-HON Attributes of an Ideal Candidate are as follows: 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 related course work; Evidence of background or experience in the position to be filled, such as taking relevant law school classes (e.g., contract law, claims, labor, and personnel law, government law, or technology law law) or relevant legal experience; 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.

Major 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; participates in negotiation of collective bargaining labor agreements of national scope; and litigates arbitrations and unfair labor practices involving agency-wide issues.

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.

Area Counsel Field Office Divisions GLS is recruiting in the following Field Offices located in Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; or San Francisco, CA.

Field Offices: Attorneys in the GLS Field Offices provide advice, support, and litigation representation for IRS and Chief Counsel management in administrative fora and in arbitration, 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.

Target Start Date: August - September 2026