Supervisory Trial Attorney (Assistant Director)

Attorneys in the Tax Litigation Branch, Trial Section, represent the United States in litigation in federal and state courts across the country. These cases involve a wide variety of substantive legal areas, including federal tax law, bankruptcy law, constitutional law, commercial and state property law, as well as unique evidentiary, procedural, and jurisdictional issues. The Trial Section is divided into regional groups, plus the Court of Federal Claims Section.

The Assistant Director helps the Deputy Directors and Director of the Trial Section to manage the regional groups. This includes handling personnel, budget, and administrative matters, as well as supervising trial attorneys, paralegals, and other section staff. The Assistant Director may assume the duties of the Deputy Director in the Deputy Director's absence.

The Assistant Director works closely with trial attorneys, coaching them to develop their tax and litigation skills, reviewing and editing their written work, and advising them on case development and strategy. The Assistant Director also works closely with paralegals and other administrative professionals, coaching them to develop their skills and reviewing and evaluating their work. The Assistant Director ensures that trial attorneys' legal work is of the highest quality, and the work is done effectively and efficiently.

This includes working with section attorneys to develop appropriate legal theories, ensuring thorough fact development, making persuasive arguments, and developing sound trial strategies. The Assistant Director analyzes proposed settlements and concessions, and takes final action on settlement or concession proposals when delegated settlement authority. The Assistant Director sometimes personally handles important and difficult cases.

In addition to complex civil litigation, the Assistant Director will work on Branch-wide projects or initiatives. The Assistant Director will be involved in the Branch's work on comprehensive tax enforcement. This includes coordinating with criminal tax enforcement attorneys and becoming familiar with the doctrines and practices involved in comprehensive tax enforcement. This is not a remote location position.

You will be required to work in person five days a week.

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov.

OR

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Applications received by June 23, 2026, will receive first consideration. Applications received after the first cutoff date will be reviewed after the announcement closes on July 7, 2026.

Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their application materials. Applicants are encouraged to ensure their materials clearly demonstrate their knowledge of subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position. Please

Note: The Selecting Official may select additional candidates if more positions become available within 120 days after the closing date of the vacancy.

Veteran Preference: If you are entitled to or claim veterans' preference (VP), you should indicate the type of veteran preference (5 or 10 points) you are claiming on your resume. In order to determine your eligibility, you can find additional information at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring.

Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). DOJ EEO Statement/Policy: U.S.

Department of Justice Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Issued December 31, 2025 Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department.

DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes to [email protected], and reference "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information is found at: www.benderconsult.com. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.

Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov. Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment.

Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation.

Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/07/2026 to receive consideration.

1.

Click "Apply Online" to get started.

1. If you're not logged in to your USAJOBS account, you will need to login. If you don't have an account, please create one.

3.

You will be prompted to select one of your stored (or uploaded) resumes, and any supporting documents you have uploaded to USAJOBS. If you have not uploaded these documents, you can do so later before submitting your application.

4.

After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, you will be asked to submit your demographic information (if you have provided this in your profile). Submission is optional and anonymous.

1. You'll be asked to confirm your choices and certify the accuracy of your information before you're able to continue to the Application Manager system. Until you see the blue border and DOJ logo, you are still on USAJOBS. You'll see a folder animation just before you leave USAJOBS.
2. Once you reach DOJ's Application Manager system, you'll be asked to verify the information you transmitted from USAJOBS.

You will then respond to the application assessment questionnaires and indicate your eligibility options.

7.

After responding to the questionnaires, you will have the opportunity to attach the documents you brought over from USAJOBS *OR* upload documents directly from your computer or device.

1. If you opt to upload a document directly, click the "Upload" button and select the document on your device, then wait for the upload to finish. Repeat as needed. Documents must be less than 3 MB each and should be in a compatible file format.
2. Once all your documents are uploaded, you must assign the uploads to the appropriate document category.

You may attach more than one document to each category.

Click the drop-down menu for a document category, and select one of the available options in the menu. The document will be listed under this category. You can click the drop-down again to add other documents, as needed. You can have up to 15 document assignments.

1. Once you've uploaded and assigned all your documents to an appropriate document type, you can proceed to the final verification step, and click Submit.
2. If you have correctly submitted your application, you will receive an automated e-mail notification within 30-60 minutes. Be sure to review the announcement fully to make sure that your application contains everything that is required.

If you need help with the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help Site (for everything on the USAJOBS-side), or the Application Manager Help Site (for everything on the DOJ-side). Regrettably, the Department of Justice cannot assist you with USAJOBS account issues. If you contact us for assistance and the problem is related to your USAJOBS account, we will have to direct you to USAJOBS to remedy the issue.

You must submit the following documents: A cover letter not exceeding two single-spaced pages that describes your interest in the Assistant Director position and explaining how your background and qualifications make you well qualified; Resume (not to exceed two pages); Most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent agency form (if applying from outside the Civil Division) Do not submit a pay adjustment or an award SF-50, these do not contain sufficient information about your appointment. SF-50 should list the full position title, series, grade and step, organization, duty location, service computation date, effective date, and your service type and tenure status. Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable.

A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute. Law school and any advanced degree transcripts (if applying from outside the Civil Division) A list of three professional references. All documents should be provided in either PDF or MS Word format.

If you don't include all of the documents we require, we may not be able to fully consider your application.