Legal Careers
Attorney Advisor
Washington, DC 20530 - United States
This position is located in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Oversight and Review Division. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is one of the premier federal inspector general offices with a prestigious team of professionals. The OIG performs audits, evaluations, investigations, and special reviews of the personnel and programs of all DOJ components including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP); U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices (USAO). The OIG offers successful candidates an opportunity to make a difference by providing challenging work that result in tangible improvements in government operations. We provide candidates with an array of benefits, outstanding development and training opportunities, and the opportunity to earn various forms of recognition (e.g., merit and honor awards and time-off awards) for their significant contributions. Located in the Oversight and Review Division (O&R) within the OIG, this position will afford the successful candidate an opportunity to join a multi-disciplinary group of employees who conduct reviews and special investigations across DOJ components. O&R blends the skills of attorneys, investigators, program analysts, and paralegal specialists to review DOJ programs and investigate sensitive allegations involving DOJ employees and operations. These reviews and investigations are often undertaken at the request of congressional committees and DOJ's senior management. Recent reviews conducted by O&R include a review of the handling and sharing of information prior to the Boston Marathon bombings, a review ATF's Operations Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious, and investigations into allegations of misconduct by senior DOJ officials.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
At the full performance level, typical work assignments include:
1. Leading teams of attorneys, investigators, and program analysts.
2. Planning, organizing, and conducting investigations regarding a wide variety of allegations.
3. Compiling and analyzing documents and testimony.
4. Making recommendations for policy changes, administrative action, or criminal prosecution.
5. Writing detailed reports of investigation.
GS 15:
- Competency planning, directing, and leading complex investigations.
- Competency conducting and directing complex legal research and the ability to present the results in a clear, precise, and persuasive manner.
- Competency understanding, interpreting, and applying substantive law and the ability to assimilate technical subject matters, define issues, and analyze and evaluate evidence.
- Competency expressing oneself orally in a manner that is clear, concise, and understandable, and the ability to elicit facts during interviews of subjects and witnesses.
- Competency writing clear, concise, and convincing reports.
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
GS 15 : Must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar and have at least one year post J.D. experience. Applicants must also have one year of specialized experience at the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: working as a lead attorney on complex investigations, interviewing witnesses and subjects, and evaluating evidence involving technical subject matters or technical areas of law. Criminal or civil prosecutive experience is desired, but is not essential.
The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Thursday, March 26, 2015.
To receive consideration:
* To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
* Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
* It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
* To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
* To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
GS-0905-15, $126,245- $158,700.
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Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: 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 race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. 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. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
Reasonable Accommodations: 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.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
Suitability and Citizenship: 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. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is 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. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: 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 their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
USAO Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. 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.