Trial Attorney

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:
Applicants MUST:
(1) be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B. or J.D.;
(2) be a current member of a bar with a valid license to practice law in a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(3) meet all specialized experience requirements as described in the vacancy announcement.

AND

Specialized Experience: For the GS-14, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes:

• Litigation experience, including experience drafting complaints or other pleadings, drafting substantive motions (e.g., motion to dismiss, motion for summary judgment, or motion in limine), or conducting and responding to discovery, or taking depositions, or engaging in oral advocacy, or representing a client at a substantive hearing or trial; AND
• Experience providing legal advice to a high-level client on a wide range of complex legal issues; AND
• Experience conducting complex legal research and writing memoranda on novel and complex issues, including discussing facts and legal authority, and providing legal recommendations or conclusions; AND
• Experience obtaining successful outcomes for clients, such as favorable judgments or settlements.

AND

For the GS-14, you must:

Have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) plus four (4) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a first professional law degree (LL.B., or J.D.), plus superior law student work (academic standing in upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the school's official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 level in the Federal service.


Specialized Experience: For the GS-13, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes:

• Litigation experience, such as experience drafting complaints or other pleadings, drafting substantive motions (e.g., motion to dismiss, motion for summary judgment, or motion in limine), or conducting or responding to discovery, engaging in oral advocacy, or representing a client at a substantive hearing or trial; AND
• Experience providing legal advice to a high-level client; AND
• Experience conducting complex legal research and writing memoranda including discussing facts and legal authority, and providing legal recommendations or conclusions.

AND

For the GS-13, you must:

Have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a first professional law degree (LL.B., or J.D.), plus superior law student work (academic standing in upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the school's official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience: For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience for this position includes:

• Litigation experience, such as experience drafting complaints or other pleadings, drafting motions, or conducting or responding to discovery; AND
• Experience providing legal advice to clients, supervisors, and team members on various matters; AND
• Legal research and writing skills and experience giving oral presentations on legal matters.

AND

For the GS-12, you must:

Have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) plus one (1) year of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a first professional law degree (LL.B., or J.D.), plus superior law student work (academic standing in upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the school's official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus one (1) year of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.


The experience may have been gained in either the public or private sector. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/date/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.