Department of Justice Seal

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION/HOUSING AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENT SECTION
TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-14 TO GS-15

The Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, is seeking several experienced attorneys for the position of Trial Attorney in the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in Washington, D.C. 
                                               
The Housing Section handles the Department’s fair lending enforcement responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).  The Section also has enforcement responsibilities relating to housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, and under Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

The attorneys hired under this announcement will handle an active docket of fair lending investigations and litigation.  Responsibilities will include: (1) developing and conducting complex fair lending investigations, including reviewing lending policies and procedures, conducting interviews, working with statistical data and experts to evaluate possible discrimination in lending, reviewing loan files, and conducting legal and factual research; (2) preparing legal arguments and memoranda on substantive FHA and ECOA issues and other legal issues; (3) handling complex fair lending litigation, including preparing and responding to discovery requests, conducting extensive document review, identifying and working with expert witnesses, preparing witnesses and participating in depositions, and developing and presenting the government's case in federal court; (4) preparing for and participating in settlement negotiations and mediation on behalf of the Department, including drafting and editing settlement proposals; (5) monitoring judgments and settlement agreements to assure compliance by defendants; (6) recommending and reviewing private litigation for intervention or amicus participation; and (7) analyzing and preparing responses to inquiries from the public, testimony, legislative proposals and other written materials.

Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and have a minimum of three years post-JD legal experience, including at least two years of experience related to fair lending issues.  Applicants should possess knowledge of the FHA and ECOA; strong organizational, writing, and oral communication skills; demonstrated ability to work independently or cooperatively on investigation or litigation teams; demonstrated professional judgment; experience in analyzing fair lending or related issues; experience working with statistical evidence and experts; and experience developing and conducting complicated investigations or cases involving violations of federal law.  Federal court litigation experience, including experience with complex electronic discovery, is preferred. Travel will be required.
Applicants must submit a cover letter (highlighting relevant experience), current resume, a brief writing sample (maximum 10 pages), and a current performance appraisal, if applicable. If you are currently employed by the Federal Government, please also submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) by one of the following means:

[DOJ employees who wish to e-mail their application may select ‘attyvacancies, CRD’ in the e-mail user listing]

No telephone calls please.  This position is open until November 20, 2009.  Faxes or e-mails received by 12 midnight (EST) of the closing date will be considered for this vacancy.  Current salary and years of specialized experience will determine the appropriate salary level within the GS-14 to GS‑15 range ($102,721 through $153,200 per annum).  The positions are located in Washington, D.C.  Relocation expenses are not authorized.  Final selection for this position will be subject to budgetary funding constraints.

The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer.  Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism.  The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities.  The Department 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 of Justice.  This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.  If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency.  Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug‑free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment.  Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation.  Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys’ Offices.  Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. Citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department’s mission and would be subject to strict security requirements.  Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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 Veteran 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).  Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
    
The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement.  Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.

This and selected other legal position announcements can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.justice.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html.