Summer Intern (Legal Administrative Specialist) (Non-Tax)
Internal Revenue Service See More Job Openings by This EmployerOffice 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 Summer Legal Program provides exposure to the Office by enabling primarily second-year law students to work under the supervision, and with the assistance of, experienced labor and employment lawyers. The training and work experience provides developmental assignments and helps prepare law students for a career as a labor and employment lawyer and gives them an excellent view of what the practice of law is like at the Office of Chief Counsel. In the National Office, law students typically take part in a variety of educational and social events. It is anticipated students will work for us the full summer.
- Appointments will be made to a Legal Administrative Specialist at the GS-9 in the Summer 2027.
- Participants who graduate from law school by Fall 2028 may be eligible for consideration for non-competitive placement into an entry-level law clerk or attorney position, subject to position availability, applicable hiring approvals, and other requirements.
As a Legal Administrative Specialist 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.
- 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. EGGalso 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 equal employment opportunity (EEO), 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: June 2027
Please note, you will not receive an application status update or communication from the hiring office until early 2027.
- $65,271 - $100,315/year
- Refer to "Additional Information."
- Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
Who May Apply:
Current law school students who have completed one (1) full year of legal studies at an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school.
- Second-year law students who have completed at least one full year of legal study by the application deadline are eligible to apply (part-time law students must be currently attending law school and have completed the equivalent of one year of full-time study by the application deadline).
- Most applicants participate in the summer after their second year of law school; however, law students graduating in Spring 2027 who will enter a judicial clerkship, fellowship, or tax or accounting-related graduate program (including a Tax LL.M. program) may participate in the summer following law school graduation prior to the start of the judicial clerkship, fellowship, or graduate program.
- If you are applying for, but have not yet accepted a judicial clerkship, fellowship, or been accepted into a related graduate program, you should consider applying to both the Summer Intern (Legal Administrative Specialist) and the Honors Program Law Clerk announcements.
Basic Requirement for Summer Legal Administrative Specialist:
- Must attend a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
- A class ranking in the top 25% of the J.D. program or LL.M. program OR
- A cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher in the J.D. program OR
- A cumulative GPA of 3.25 in the LL.M. program OR
- If the LL.M. program does not have class rank nor GPA, the J.D. program requirements listed above must be met OR
- If neither J.D. nor LL.M. program has class rank or GPA, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required
- Special high-level recognition for academic excellence in law school, such as selection to Order of the Coif, receipt of the American Jurisprudence Award, or CALI Excellence for the Future Award in related courses; or top grades in classes related to the position to be filled,
- Evidence of background or experience in the position to be filled, such as taking relevant law school classes or participation in law school clinics,
- Work or achievement in the law school's law review or other recognized law journal,
- Success in a moot court or mock trial competition or membership on a moot court or mock trial team.
A complete application includes
- A resume
- Vacancy question responses
- An official or unofficial transcript from your law school (an official copy will be required if you are selected)
- An unedited writing sample (5-10 pages in length)
- Supporting documentation as applicable
- If you are using your class rank or LSAT score to qualify, you must submit documentation within your application to prove your claim. If your school does not calculate neither GPA nor Class Rank, please include supporting documentation from the college/university.
EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: If you are using your GPA, class ranking or LSAT Scores to qualify, you must include supporting documentation that confirms your GPA & Class Rank (for example, a transcript, test scores, etc.).
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing actual or expected dates of service 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.
Please ensure your application includes supporting qualification documentation for this position, failure to do so may result in an "incomplete application" determination. 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 12/11/2026 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00am-4:00pm. ET, Monday - Friday). To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13076064
If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability or medical condition during any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Kimberly Johnson, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, HR Labor & Employee Relations Division, by phone at 503-265-3841 or by email at Kimberly.F.Johnson@irscounsel.treas.gov. The IRS - Office of Chief Counsel provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. You must contact us by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the announcement's closing date to request accommodation. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
- 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. Please limit your resume to two-pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. 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.