Legal Careers
Attorney Advisor (General)
Washington, DC 20530 - United States
OLA has responsibility for devising and implementing the legislative strategy to carry out the Attorney General's initiatives requiring congressional action. OLA articulates the views of the Department, including its components, on congressional legislative initiatives. OLA responds for the Department to requests and inquiries from congressional committees, individual Members of Congress, and their staffs. OLA coordinates the Department's responses to congressional oversight activities involving the Department, as well as the appearance of Department witnesses at congressional hearings and the interagency clearance through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of all congressional testimony by representatives of federal agencies. In addition, the Office participates in the Senate confirmation process for Department nominees, such as Assistant Attorneys General.
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.
OLA is seeking an attorney who performs well in a fast-paced, highly professional environment to serve as a liaison between the Department of Justice and Congress. The attorney will also handle intradepartmental clearance and interagency clearance through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) process of a variety of documents including legislative proposals, hearing materials, reports to Congress, and administrative views.
The attorney will be responsible for:
- Coordinating between the Department of Justice and the Congress, communicating frequently with congressional staff about legislation and other congressional matters that affect the Department's jurisdiction and equities;
- Keeping Department officials apprised of the current status and outlook for congressional action on matters of interest to the Department;
- Preparing senior Department officials to provide congressional briefings and testimony before Congressional Committees;
- Developing written views based upon input from Department components and presenting those views to congressional staff in order to advance the Department's mission, protect the Department's equities, and promote a constructive relationship with the Congress;
- Responding to Congressional inquiries regarding legislation, oversight matters, correspondence, constituent matters, and other requests for information;
- Coordinating the timely intra-Departmental clearance of positions on legislative matters, as set forth in draft proposals, letters, prepared statements, talking points, and questions for hearing records; and
- Coordinating the timely development of responses to requests by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the Department's views on positions proposed by other agencies, as set forth in draft legislation, letters, prepared statements, talking points, and responses to questions for hearing records.
Required: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 2 years of post-J.D. experience. United States citizenship and ability to receive a security clearance are required.
Preferred: Applicant should possess superior organizational skills, multi-tasking capabilities, strong consensus building skills, attention to detail, and comfort working in a fast-paced environment. It is preferred that applicants have knowledge of the Department of Justice and/or the United States Congress
Please submit a resume, a cover letter outlining relevant experience and identifying the job announcement number, and a list of references. Please submit application materials to OLA.Resumes@usdoj.gov
Applications must be received by March 31 2023
The grade range for this position is GS-13 to GS-15, depending on experience ($112,015 - $183,500 per year, including locality pay)
Department Policies
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.