The Office of Chief Counsel offers student volunteer externship positions in Washington, D.C. and field offices located throughout the country each academic semester, including the summer, for law students. These positions are volunteer (without compensation). Externs will be expected to work between 12 to 20 hours per week from one of our offices nationwide. The work experience in this extern program includes developmental assignments that will help prepare law students for a career as a tax lawyer. Externs will assist our tax attorneys in a variety of assignments, including conducting legal and factual research, preparing documents and exhibits, interviewing witnesses, summarizing depositions, analyzing records, and other case-related work. Volunteer legal externs may qualify either for course credit or as part of a law school’s work-study program. In addition, some schools sponsor public interest fellowships or other programs where legal externs receive a stipend for public interest work. Interested students should contact their law school for specific information and requirements. The Office of Chief Counsel is an equal opportunity/reasonable accommodation employer committed to recruiting a talented, diverse, and highly qualified workforce, and we welcome applications from all accredited law schools for our law school intern program. In the National Office, law students typically take part in a variety of educational and social events.

Eligibility and Qualifications for Volunteer Legal Externship Positions

The Office of Chief Counsel seeks eligible applicants with excellent interpersonal skills; strong written and verbal communication skills; strong research and analytical skills; and demonstrated interest or experience in the tax. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Applicants must be students attending an accredited law school. The following students are eligible: first-year (second semester), second- and third-year law students; and law school graduates who are enrolled in graduate law programs (e.g., L.L.M. programs) at least half-time. All students must be in good academic standing and will be required to provide official documentation from their school.

How to Apply

Externships are available for the Spring (January-April), Summer (May-August), and Fall (September-December) semester. To apply for an externship, students will need to submit a complete application packet to us via email.

Complete application packages include:

• a resume
• a transcript from your law school (an unofficial copy is fine)
• unedited writing sample (5-10 pages in length)

Your application packet should be emailed to attyapplications@irscounsel.treas.gov or to the local field office where you would like to work. In the body of your email, please include the city/state, division(s), and semester in which you wish to be considered for an externship. If you are applying to Washington, DC, also include your top 5 choices for legal division placement. The following divisions are not eligible for externships: Taxpayer Services, Office of Executive Counsel, Chief Counsel National Taxpayer Advocate (CCNTA).  

Visit legal divisions for more information on our legal divisions. Our National Office legal divisions are only located in Washington DC. For externships outside of Washington, DC, your package will be forwarded directly to the field office in the city/state you requested.
 
Note: Packages are not complete unless all information shown above is included.