U.S.DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF CHIEF COUNSEL
DOMESTIC CRIMINAL LAW SECTION
EXPERIENCED ATTORNEY/GS-14 to GS-15
The Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management, U.S. Department of Justice, is seeking an experienced attorney to work in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Office of Chief Counsel, as an attorney in its Domestic Criminal Law Unit (CCM), located in Arlington, Virginia.
Position Description: The Domestic Criminal Law Section provides legal support in all criminal law and procedure issues for the Drug Enforcement Administration and its field offices. This includes issues arising from drug-related and money laundering statutes, investigative methods and techniques, search and seizure, electronic surveillance, interview and interrogation, testimony and expert witnesses, tangible and digital evidence, discovery and disclosure obligations under Giglio, Jencks and Brady, legislative proposals relating to criminal law and procedure, and Federal sentencing guidelines. The position responsibilities also include preparation and presentation of legal training materials and legal review of operational policies and procedures.
Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and have at least 6 years of post-J.D. legal experience. Applicants must also have 1) significant experience in criminal law, with at least four years Federal prosecutorial experience preferred; 2) excellent academic credentials; 3) strong oral and written communication skills; 4) superior legal research and analytical skills; 5) experience in dealing with complex legal and policy issues; and 6) familiarity with legal issues arising from use of electronic surveillance and other investigative technology and/or the Internet in narcotics investigations. Proficiency in computer-aided legal research and computer word processing is required. Applicants should also meet eligibility requirements for a Top Secret Clearance.
Salary: Current salary and years of experience will determine the appropriate salary range from GS-14 ($102,721 - $133,543) to GS-15 ($120,830 to $153,200).
Application Procedure: Applicants must submit a detailed resume, a cover letter highlighting relevant experience and identifying position applied for, a legal writing sample, and a certificate of good standing from their bar, to:
Headquarters, Drug Enforcement Administration
ATTN: Donna C. Sanger, Deputy Chief Counsel for Operational Law
8701 Morrissette Drive
Springfield, Virginia 22152
Contact Number: 202-307-8030. Applications must be received by November 12, 2009.
Applicants who are found, through investigation or personal admission, to have experimented with or used narcotics or dangerous drugs, except those medically prescribed, will not be considered for employment with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of marijuana. Such applicants may be considered for employment if there is no evidence of regular, confirmed usage and the full-field background investigation and results of the other steps in the process are otherwise favorable.
Compliance with this policy is an essential requirement of the position. All applicants must complete the DEA Drug Questionnaire and submit that Questionnaire with their application package. A copy of the drug questionnaire can be located at http://www.dea.gov/, under “Careers at DEA”. The link to the questionnaire is located in the first paragraph on the page.
Additional Information: This and selected other attorney vacancy announcements can be found on the Internet at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html
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, 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 the 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. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointment 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. Dual citizens of 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 are encouraged to include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g. the DD 214 or other substantiating documents) to their submissions.
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.