Nature of Work
A law clerk or attorney adviser performs legal research, digesting, drafting, and related assignments on tax cases tried before the Judge. The duties are performed at the Court in Washington, D.C. No traveling is required.
Employment Opportunities
Law clerks of the Judges and Special Trial Judges are recruited as vacancies occur; however, most positions become available in the summer months. Please review the list of Judges and Special Trial Judges currently recruiting for Law Clerks prior to submitting your application. Click each Judge's name to view Additional Information or Requirements for Law Clerk Applicants. It is advised that candidates submit their applications for these positions no later than early Fall of the preceding year in order to receive consideration for available positions. Additional information is provided in the Application Procedure section below.
Each Fall, the Court hosts “Law Clerk Interview Day”. A few weeks prior to the actual interview day, the Tax Court will open the law clerk portal for a limited time to receive applications from applicants interested in participating in this exciting opportunity. The Court will notify law school career services offices that candidates can submit electronic application packages via the Court’s website (www.ustaxcourt.gov, Employment Tab, Law Clerk Program). Candidates may submit application packets to one or more participating Judge. Please follow the specific instructions and guidelines for submitting application materials. Once the window closes for receipt of electronic applications, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) will forward the electronic applications to each participating Judge.
It is the policy of U.S. Tax Court, as an equal opportunity employer, to attract and retain the best-qualified people available, without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, age, or disability.
Qualifications and Compensation
A law clerk or attorney adviser must be a law school graduate. While bar admission is not required at the time of appointment, a law clerk must be admitted to the bar within 14 months of the appointment. In addition, not later than 24 months after their initial appointment, and thereafter during their service at the Tax Court, law clerks and attorney advisers must be admitted to practice before the highest court of a state or the District of Columbia and in good standing.
The Judges of the United States Tax Court are primarily interested in the superior law school graduate who has completed Federal tax law courses and plans to practice in this specialized field. There is particular interest in a graduate who has worked on a law review and graduated in the upper one-third of his/her law school class. Some Judges, but not all, prefer candidates with an LL.M. degree in taxation or who have completed one year of professional experience in the Federal tax field.
A graduate with a J.D. degree, an outstanding or superior record, and class rank in the top one-third of his/her law school class may be appointed at a step above the minimum grade GS-11 step 1 on the Government pay scale.
An appointment at a step above the minimum grade GS-12 step 1 may be made for an applicant with an LL.M. degree in taxation who was in the top one-third of his/her law school class. An applicant with one full year of postgraduate legal work experience (with bar membership) who was in the top one-third of his/her law school class may also be considered for employment at a step above the minimum grade GS-12 step 1.
The decision to make an offer, and the terms of the offer, are left to the discretion of each Judge.
Security and Character Investigations
All appointments are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background, credit and tax check.
Insurance and Retirement Plans
Benefits available to employees include health insurance and life insurance. Employees also participate in the benefits of the Government's Federal Employee's Retirement System, which includes the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
Leave and Vacation
An employee without prior Government service is entitled to 13 days of annual leave and 13 days of sick leave for each year of a two-year commitment.
Application Procedure
Please review the list of Judges and Special Trial Judges currently recruiting for Law Clerks prior to submitting your application. Click each Judge's name to view Additional Information or Requirements for Law Clerk Applicants.
An application for employment must include a complete resume and a copy of the law school curriculum transcript. A copy of your legal writing sample, preferably in the tax field, should also accompany the application.
Interested individuals may use one of the following methods to apply:
- Complete the electronic application form;
- send paper applications directly to the Judge(s) and/or Special Trial Judge(s) to whom you wish to apply; or
- for Court-wide availability, send paper applications to the Office of Human Resources at the following address:
United States Tax Court
Office of Human Resources, Rm 106
400 Second Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20217
Applicants who prefer to send paper applications may do so, including to those Judges who indicated a preference for electronic applications.
In addition, law schools are welcome to bundle paper applications (including cover letters, resumes, recommendations, transcripts, and writing samples) for applicants so that the materials for all applicants from that school arrive together. Law schools which send bundled applications may send them to individual Judges and Special Trial Judges or the Office of Human Resources.
Questions concerning the application process may be directed to the Court's Office of Human Resources at (202) 521-4700.
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