National ERB boards will generally be composed of no more than five SES executives as described below:

In the event the Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations or Technical) is unable or elects not to participate on a board, the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) will serve as chairperson of the board.

The Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations or Technical) will be responsible for making final determinations with respect to the board members who will participate. The Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) will be responsible for tracking these assignments and making recommendations to the Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations or Technical) on board membership, when appropriate.

A Deputy Division Counsel or Deputy Associate Chief Counsel may serve in lieu of their respective Division Counsel or Associate Chief Counsel at the election of the Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations or Technical).

A quorum of three members must participate, in person or via teleconference, in all board deliberations and decisions, unless an exception is authorized by the board Chairperson to promote the efficiency of the Office of Chief Counsel. Such an exception will normally be authorized only in very rare circumstances in which the unavailability of a board member cannot reasonably be anticipated, and rescheduling would unduly inconvenience the applicants under consideration, or be otherwise impractical. One example might be a situation in which a board member is unexpectedly absent due to illness on the day on which applicant interviews have been scheduled.

The composition of the board described above is intended as a guideline. In all cases, however, the Board must have at least one person from outside the affected organization.

Local ERB boards will generally be composed of between three and five SES executives or GS-15 managers/management officials as described below:

The Deputy Chief Counsel may participate on any board and serve as chairperson.

Deputy Division Counsel and Deputy Associate Chief Counsel may serve in lieu of their respective Division Counsel or Associate Chief Counsel (including serving as the board chairperson).

The board chairperson is responsible for identifying board members who will serve as members. If needed, assistance in identifying pools of SES and GS-15 managers eligible to participate may be obtained by contacting ERB staff in the office of the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M).

A quorum of three members must participate, in person or via teleconference, in all board deliberations and decisions, unless an exception is authorized by the board chairperson to promote the efficiency of the Office of Chief Counsel. Such an exception will normally be authorized only in very rare circumstances in which the unavailability of a board member cannot reasonably be anticipated, and rescheduling would unduly inconvenience the applicants under consideration, or be otherwise impractical. One example of such an exception might be a situation in which a board member is unexpectedly absent due to illness on the day on which applicant interviews have been scheduled.

The composition of the board described above is intended as a guideline. In all cases, however, the Board must contain a person from outside the affected organization.

Those who conduct interviews will be expected to have precise information about the nature of the positions that are available and about fringe benefits, advancement opportunities, the educational and experience requirements of the positions, and how selections for appointments are made. Due to the importance of the interviewing process, only GS-14 attorneys or higher should conduct interviews.

The interview is the only method by which the Office can judge applicants outside of their "paper" qualifications. The Chief Counsel application form is designed to elicit much of the information which interviewers in the past have had to spend valuable interview time to obtain. Thus, the interviewer should be free to find out more about the applicant and to answer any questions the applicant may have. Applicants interested in General Legal Services (GLS) work should be interviewed by GLS attorneys where possible.

Applicants will be subject to a second interview if they have been determined to be acceptable for employment by the initial interviewer. Ordinarily, an offer of employment will not be made under any of the programs unless the applicant has been interviewed by two officials of the Office. In such case, the initial interviewer will see to it that a second interviewer is immediately available to talk with the applicant to avoid the necessity of a second visit to the office.

Interview expenses may be requested of and authorized by the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) on a case-by-case basis. Authorization may be granted in unusual circumstances based upon the interviewees’ accomplishments which indicate that he/she is of an exceptional caliber.

Each interviewer will complete a separate Form 12990, Interview Data, http://publish.no.irs.gov/getpdf.cgi?catnum=31293. Interviewers should promptly return interview data sheets along with the original application package to HR when so requested.

Interviewers should check the application package to ensure that it is properly completed. Interviewers should be aware that pursuant to the Privacy Act, the first time information is requested from the individual, either orally (i.e., at an interview) or in writing, a copy of the "Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Notice" , which is on the reverse side of the application form, must be provided to the applicant. Interviews should not be conducted until the applicant has completed an application form that has the "Notice" printed on it.

Checklist. All interviewers should be certain that applicants understand the following:

Interviewers should evaluate applicants as if applicants would be working for them. The Office depends on the evaluation of the interviewers to select among many well-qualified applicants. Interview data sheets should contain constructive comments; however, when an applicant is not being recommended, one or two explanatory sentences are all that is usually necessary.

Interviewers should include an evaluation of the writing sample submitted in their interview data sheets. An original paper, such as a seminar paper, is more desirable than a law review article or similar document which has been edited a number of times. Since much of the work product of the Office of Chief Counsel is written, the interviewers should review the paper, having in mind the question: "Is this paper of the quality expected by the Office of Chief Counsel?"

In selecting applicants for employment, HR relies heavily on the recommendation of the interviewer and the interview data sheet. In the interview data sheet, the conclusions stated under "comments" and the recommendation should coincide. Since the Office has many more applicants than vacancies, it is essential in recommending applicants for employment that the interviewers be fair but critical and carefully consider whether they would want to have the applicants working with or for them. Supervisors may contact HR for an example of a completed Form 12990, Interview Data sheet.

Applicants for this program must be third-year law students who have graduated from an American Bar Association accredited law school and will take a bar examination shortly after graduation. Applicants may receive a full time appointment prior to graduation and taking the bar. Generally, applicants will not report for duty until after taking the bar exam. Counsel may consider allowing an applicant to report to duty prior to taking the bar exam; however, this practice is not strongly encouraged.

In addition, applicants ordinarily should be in the top third of their law school class, or have performed at a comparable level at those law schools which do not rank their classes.

Those qualifying for the Honors Program with a J.D. are employed at grade GS-11 Step 8; those with an LL.M degree in Tax or Labor law at GS-12 Step 4.

Applications for employment under this program will be accepted throughout the year.

Applicants will be informed of their selection or non-selection in writing.

The Regular Program for GS-12 through GS-14 positions and vacancies for GS-15 positions is open to applicants who have graduated from an American Bar Association accredited law school and possess a J.D. degree. Applicants must also:

Professional experience following law school will be considered in determining the appropriate grade level an applicant is qualified for. To qualify for a particular grade level, a year of experience with the nature of the legal tax work and the level of responsibility characteristic of the next lower grade is required. In addition, the following length of experience is required:

An LL.M. degree in the field of the position (tax or GLS-related field) may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above.

Applicants ordinarily should have been in the top one-third of their law school class, or have performed at a comparable level at those law schools that do not rank their classes.

A number of first- and second-year law students will ordinarily be employed by the Office as interns during the summer months. The period of employment generally will be during the months of June, July, and August and will not exceed 89 days. However, if necessary, a summer appointment of a shorter duration, or one which begins earlier or later, can be arranged. Interns can be assigned to any Counsel office.

Announcements of the forthcoming Summer Intern Program will be sent to law schools accredited by the American Bar Association and all interested students will be invited to apply. The purpose of the program is twofold:

Appointments under this program are made at the grade GS-7 level for first-year students and GS-9 level for second-year students. Applicants will be notified of their selection or non-selection in writing.

Because of the increased emphasis on the Summer Law Clerk Program for recruiting purposes, Form 9163, Summer Intern Evaluation, http://publish.no.irs.gov/getpdf.cgi?catnum=, should be completed by the supervisor as soon as the law clerk leaves. This is a critical and detailed evaluation of the law clerk's performance, including a recommendation for or against hiring for permanent employment. The evaluation should be sent to HR within one week after the law clerk's departure.

Law clerks will be asked to evaluate the Summer Law Clerk Program. Supervisors should notify the law clerks that they are to send their evaluations of the Summer Law Clerk Program, including any suggestions about the program, to HR before they leave the Office.

Summer law clerks who are interested in being considered for permanent employment with the Office should, upon termination of their summer employment, forward to HR a current Chief Counsel Application package.

The Office of Chief Counsel authorizes the use of the Law Student Volunteer Intern Program to provide opportunities for students to become familiar with the Office while gaining practical work experience, to encourage the interchange of ideas between the Office and law schools concerning career options and to expand recruitment sources by allowing firsthand observation of potential employees.

Use of such student volunteer services must be planned to avoid conflict with the summer intern program. In addition, no indication should be given to student volunteers that they will receive special preference for employment as summer interns.

Law students selected as volunteers in this program are prohibited from simultaneous outside employment that would result in a conflict of interest or give the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The Human Resources Division is designated as the coordinator of the program, and is responsible for promulgating internal instructions and serving as the point of contact with the law schools. Every effort will be made to inform students about employment opportunities.

Law Student Volunteer Interns may have access to returns and return information to the same extent that attorneys or tax law specialists have access to such material. It is the obligation of the students' supervisors to brief the students on their responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of the tax information they obtain in the course of their service. Interns may not disclose any returns or return information obtained in any manner except as authorized by IRC § 6103(h)(1), (k)(6), and (l)(4).

This program will be periodically reviewed to assess its statutory and regulatory compliance and its effectiveness in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the Office of Chief Counsel in this area.

Non-law and law school students may apply to the student volunteer program. Under this program, students will perform a range of duties for the office. These duties are not necessarily comparable with those assigned to a law student volunteer intern. Students will not receive compensation for services rendered, nor are they required to be enrolled in an accredited course in conjunction with their volunteer service. Students will be eligible to participate if they are enrolled in any college or university. Pursuant to ABA guidelines, first year law students participating in this program should work no more than twenty hours per week during the school year.

The Associate Chief Counsel/Division Counsel offices will select their own student volunteers. If the student is enrolled in a law school, prior approval must be granted by the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M).

Use of such student volunteer services must be planned to avoid conflict with the summer program and the law student volunteer intern program. Generally, students in this program will not work in the same office in which an intern is working under the summer program or the law student intern volunteer program. Law students are required to sign a written acknowledgment, Form 13700, Student Volunteer Acknowledgment Statement ( http://publish.no.irs.gov/getpdf.cgi?catnum=40902), that this is not a formal intern program. No indication should be given to student volunteers of an expectation for future employment with the Office.

Students selected as volunteers in this program are prohibited from simultaneous outside employment that would result in a conflict of interest or give the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The Human Resources Division is designated as the coordinator of the program.

Upon selection, but at least 30 days prior to the anticipated entry date, the Associate Chief Counsel/Division Counsel office will send the following forms to the student:

Student volunteers may have access to returns and return information to the same extent that attorneys or tax law specialists have access to such material. It is the obligation of the students’ supervisors to brief the students on their responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of the tax information they obtain in the course of their service. Students may not disclose any returns or return information obtained in any manner except as authorized by IRC § 6103(h)(1), (k)(6), and (l)(4).

Students will be evaluated on the work performed in a manner as set forth in Form 9163, Summer Intern Evaluation, which can be found at http://publish.no.irs.gov/getpdf.cgi?catnum=10925. Only that portion of the evaluation pertaining to the work performed should be completed and submitted to the Associate Chief Counsel/Division Counsel with a copy forwarded to HR.

Student volunteers under this program may be terminated at any time without cause by Associate Chief Counsel/Division Counsel.

The policies and procedures for making determinations concerning the payment of recruitment bonuses within the Office of Chief Counsel are derived from the following:

Authority to pay recruitment bonuses is vested in the Chief Counsel, per delegations from the General Counsel, Treasury. This authority has been redelegated to the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M).

The amount of recruitment bonuses for appointments of attorneys and law clerks under the Chief Counsel Honors Program will be established by the Chief Counsel in the annual budget.