Attorney-Advisor

Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA)
General Counsel's Office
Attorney
600 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
United States
15-EOUSA-1471567
About the Office: 

The General Counsel's Office (GCO) is a component of the EOUSA in the Department of Justice and is responsible for providing a full range of legal advice and services to the 94 United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) throughout the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you.

GCO provides timely and accurate legal advice and litigation support to USAOs and EOUSA on a wide range of legal issues including disciplinary or adverse actions, performance management issues, and any other employment-related issues; litigation before various administrative tribunals; government ethics matters, such as conflicts of interest, recusals, outside activities, and financial disclosure reports; questions concerning recusals of USAOs from pending cases or matters; property damage claims filed by Federal employees; and procurement and fiscal law issues.

GCO is a very dynamic and fast paced office. The individual selected can expect a challenging and demanding environment and will be exposed to management concerns and top management officials within EOUSA and throughout the entire Department of Justice.

The office is ideally situated among three Metro stations, one block from the Verizon Center, a short walk to the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall, and is surrounded by numerous restaurants and shops. In addition, we offer creative work solutions in which we provide compressed work schedules and flexible work schedules, along with transit subsidy.

Additional positions may be filled using this vacancy announcement.

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.

Job Description: 

If selected for this position you will serve as an Attorney Advisor (Assistant General Counsel) and will be responsible for:

- Providing expert advice to the United States Attorneys and their staff in the interpretation, intent, and applicability of Federal laws, regulations, and programs in the assigned area(s) of law.

Drafting interpretative and administrative rules, regulations and other guidance in assigned area(s) of law

- Responsibility for advising on questions of law involved in the operations of the organization and its contacts with industry, State, local or foreign governments, or other similar organizational entities.

- Initiating and maintaining liaison and effective communications with EOUSA management, United States Attorneys and their staff, Department officials and other federal agencies.

- Representing the agency in administrative litigation and other proceedings and assist in Federal court proceedings.

Qualifications: 

Required Qualifications

- Applicants MUST possess a J.D. Degree and

- Be an active member of the bar* (any jurisdiction).

*You must include your bar membership information in your application package to be considered.

To qualify at the GS-15 grade level applicants must have at least 5 years post J.D. legal or other relevant experience to qualify. Qualifying experience is defined as experience with at least three of the following areas: Standards of Conduct and Ethics, Federal Employment Law, Equal Employment Law, and/or Administrative Law

Preferred qualifications:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Merit Systems Protection Board experience

Security Requirements

Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, tax and credit checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

Salary: 
$126,245 - $158,700
Travel: 
1-2 weeks per year
Application Process: 

You must apply via USAJOBS at: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/411615900.

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Application Deadline: 
Friday, August 14, 2015
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be paid.
Number of Positions: 
One
Updated April 7, 2016

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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.   

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.