General Attorney

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

Education Requirements: Position requires the possession of a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and, for assignment within the Department of Defense, OGC, or DLSA, active membership in the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. The Military Departments may also extend the requirement for active bar membership to assignment of civilian attorneys within their respective DepartmentsOnly degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.

Thus, an applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.). As indicated below, a law school transcript must be submitted with your application materials. An unofficial transcript will suffice for the application, although an official transcript may be required if accepted into the position.

Foreign education must be evaluated for U.S. equivalence in order to be considered for this position. Please include this information in your resume.

Statement of Good Standing/Bar Membership: Applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As noted below, proof of such membership and good standing must be submitted with your application materials.

Experience:
GS-12 Attorneys performing duties in GS-12 or equivalent-level positions are expected to perform with some independence, even when working on the most complex or difficult matters. Thus, preference is given to applicants with professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. An advanced law degree such as an LL.M. may substitute for professional legal experience.

GS-13 Attorneys performing duties at the GS-13 or equivalent-level positions are expected to perform with substantial independence, even when working on the most complex or difficult matters. Thus, the applicant must have 2 years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LL.M. may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience.

Time in Grade Requirement: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Your application package will be evaluated to ensure your experience, knowledge, skills, training and/or education meet the qualification requirements stated in this vacancy announcement.
• Quality of experience relates to how closely or to what extent an applicant's background and regency of experience and education clearly reflect that you possess the following required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of this position.
• The following KSA's must be addressed in your resume. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating or affect your overall rating.

Knowledge, skills and ability interpreting federal laws, regulations, policies and procedures related to the providing advice and related legal reviews on personnel and employment law, federal real estate, general law and litigation, regulatory and environmental law, and federal contract law.

Knowledge, skill and ability to provide legal representation before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Federal Labor Relations Agency (FLRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity commission (EEOC), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), and other administrative tribunals, and providing support to the DOJ when they are the attorney of record in court cases.

Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, and to provide clear and convincing legal advice and opinions on a wide variety of matters to the District Counsel, District Commander, senior staff, other government members, and contractors.

Ability to deal with individuals and groups of varied technical and professional backgrounds.

Writing Sample: Applicants must submit a writing sample. Examples of writing skills may be demonstrated by legal briefs, memoranda, or letters. These examples should total no more than ten pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable. If the writing sample is not public, please redact personal information or use pseudonyms.