On October 11, 2022, Caroline D. Ciraolo, former Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division and current Partner at Kostelanetz & Fink, delivered this year’s Fogel Lecture at Temple Law School, titled “Enforcing the Nation’s Tax Laws Fully, Fairly, and Consistently: The Role of DOJ in Tax Enforcement.” Ms. Ciraolo’s presentation centered around the history of the Department of Justice, in addition to the history, structure, and operations of its Tax Division.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Ms. Ciraolo was the Chair of the Tax Controversy and Litigation practice group of a regional firm in Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. Ciraolo also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Baltimore School of Law Graduate Tax Program. Below is a narrative summary of Ms. Ciraolo’s lecture.
Origins of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) trace back to the 18th century, when the Judiciary Act of 1789 created the one-person position of the Office of the Attorney General. Then, in 1870, Congress passed legislation creating the DOJ, with the Attorney General acting as its head.
The DOJ’s chain of command has evolved over the years. While the Attorney General stills runs the show, the Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General oversee the operations of numerous agencies and divisions. The Deputy Attorney General sits atop many notable entities, particularly on the criminal-side, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorneys Office, and the Bureau of Prisons. Meanwhile, the Associate Attorney General, who reports directly to the Deputy Attorney General, oversees many civil divisions, including the Civil Rights Division, the Antitrust Division, and, most on point, the Tax Division.
The Tax Division dates back to 1933, when Attorney General Homer Cummings created it and tasked it with supervising all federal litigation involving internal revenue. Today, the Tax Division employs approximately 350 attorneys. Their collective mission is to “enforce the nation’s tax laws fully, fairly, and consistently, through both criminal and civil litigation, in order to promote voluntary compliance with the tax laws, maintain public confidence in the integrity of the tax system, and promote the sound development of the law.”
The Assistant Attorney General, who runs the Tax Division, is—under ordinary circumstances—appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. However, the DOJ has had “Acting” Assistant Attorney Generals since 2014, a title which Ms. Ciraolo held from 2015 to 2016. Ms. Ciraolo noted that this demonstrates the level of trust that the Executive Branch has in the Tax Division.
Under the Assistant Attorney General, there are four Deputy Assistant Attorney Generals (“DAAGs”) who collectively help manage the Tax Division. These four DAAGs are each charged with leading a different section of the Tax Division: (1) criminal; (2) appellate and review; (3) civil; and (4) policy and planning.
Overall, the Tax Division conducts a broad range of affairs, including handling most civil and criminal litigation related to internal revenue laws, working closely with the IRS, and combatting tax evasion and defiance. However, each of the four sections specializes in its area of expertise.
With so many services provided, there are several different types of opportunities to get involved in the DOJ Tax Division. For current and recent law school students, the Tax Division hosts the Summer Law Intern Program, hiring approximately fifty paid legal interns each summer. Additionally, the DOJ offers approximately 1,800 Volunteer Legal Internships in any given year. For graduating law students and recent graduates who are in judicial clerkships or other graduate law programs, the DOJ Honors Program is another option. And lastly, for those looking to transition over to the DOJ later in their legal careers, the Tax Division also makes lateral hires.
Josh Meyerson (LAW ’24) is a Production Editor for the Temple 10-Q.