Legal Careers
Supervisory Attorney Advisor (Deputy Associate Chief Counsel)
The Office of Chief Counsel, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Justice, is seeking Deputy Associate Chief Counsels. These supervisory attorneys are senior expert legal advisors for the agency and are involved in the most difficult and complex legal issues relating to the agency's enforcement and administration of the Federal firearms explosives and Federal criminal laws.
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.
Duty location for this position is based applicant’s willingness to live in the local commuting area of one the Division offices.
The positions may be located in the following ATF Field Division Offices:
- Central: Nashville and Memphis, TN; Louisville, KY; Detroit, MI; Columbus and Cleveland OH; St. Paul, MN; Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; St. Louis, MO; New Orleans, LA; and Kansas City, MO.
- East: Newark, NJ; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, MD; Miami and Tampa, FL; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; Atlanta, GA; and Philadelphia, PA
- West: Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio, TX; Denver, CO; Las Vegas, NV; and Salt Lake City, UT
*Applicants who are not currently located in one of the areas identified above must relocate to one of the offices listed in the region. The selected applicant is responsible for all associated travel and relocation expenses.
Serves as the Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (DACC) of a Field Region (Central, East, or West) and reports to the Associate Chief Counsel of that region. The DACC is a senior expert legal advisor and is involved in the most difficult and complex legal issues relating to the agency's enforcement and administration of the Federal firearms explosives and Federal criminal laws. The DACC also provides legal advice to personnel in ATF field division offices, including but not limited to: Special Agents in Charge (SACs), the Directors of Industry Operations (DIOs), and other management staff.
The DACC, as one of the Region's first line supervisors, will be required to review work relating to all legal areas covered by the Field Region. Additionally, the DACC is required to perform a full range of supervisory duties including establishing overall office policies, practices, work priorities, and goals directly assigning work to staff and evaluating their performance; coordinating and facilitating the work of the office with higher management levels; making selections for subordinates (subject to internal approval requirements); resolving disciplinary problems and other conflicts raised within the office; monitoring employee training programs, to ensure personnel are trained in their areas of responsibility; evaluating subordinates; and approving performance standards.
GS-15: Applicants must have at least six years of specialized experience as a practicing attorney.
In addition to meeting to the qualifications above, you must meet the specialized experience below:
Specialized Experience is defined as experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position.
Applicants will be rated on the extent and quality of their experience, education and training relative to the duties of the position and the specialized experience. The applicant must specifically address their qualifications and specialized experience related to this position in their resumes in to be considered qualified for the position. Specialized experience for this position includes:
- Expansive experience analyzing, interpreting, and applying laws, regulations, ATF orders, court decisions, agency and office opinions and other legal documents.
- Superior legal research, analytical, writing, and oral communication skills.
- The capacity to function with substantial independence, as a supervisory attorney, including reviewing, editing and providing constructive feedback on the work relating to the agency's enforcement and administration of the Federal firearms and explosives.
Preferred Qualifications: In addition to meeting to the above qualifications, the ideal candidate will have experience in all areas of the Region’s legal practice.
- Expansive knowledge and experience reviewing and providing legal analysis of the substantive and procedural aspects of laws administered and enforced by ATF, and broad knowledge of Federal administrative, criminal, and general laws.
- Extensive knowledge and experience conducting administrative hearings or other civil proceedings.
- Expansive expertise in ATF’s administration and enforcement of the Federal Firearms and Explosives laws, providing legal opinions on matters arising under the GCA, the NFA and the Federal explosives laws, including matters involving the classification of firearms, notices of proposed and final rules, and firearms and explosives industry and enforcement programs.
- Extensive experience in original thinking, mature judgment, and sound reasoning as new problems of law, policy and procedures are presented for solution.
- Extensive experience providing independent judgment, showing foresight in recognizing matters of precedential nature.
All applicants must meet all qualification requirements described in this announcement by the closing date.
Required Documents:
- Resume showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education, and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/date/year to month/date/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must support your answers to the completed online assessment questions. Must include your preferred duty location in a cover letter or at the beginning of your resume.
- Must provide a legal writing sample (no more than 15 pages)
How to Apply
This job is filled through a 3-step on-line application process.
STEP ONE - (Online Resume - USAJOBS) You must create a user account and at least one Federal resume at USAJOBS. Information you provide in USAJOBS is general information completed by all applicants. The information you provide and your Federal resume will become part of your application and will automatically be transferred to ATF Seeker when you apply online. If you have an existing USAJOBS account, simply login and select the resume you wish to include with your application package for this announcement.
STEP TWO - (Vacancy Specific Questions USAJobs) In USAJobs, you will answer vacancy specific questions necessary to evaluate your qualifications for the job to which you are applying. When completed, the information you provided at USAJOBS and the answers to the USAJob questions will become your application package.
STEP THREE - (Supporting Documentation) You may upload supporting documentation in one of two ways:
(l) Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application package. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process, or you can select a document that you've already loaded on USAJOBS, or simply fax supporting documentation, which will provide you the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted to the appropriate vacancy announcement. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet.
(2) You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on "My Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you have located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select "Apply Online". Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select "Upload" in order to add a document to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g. DD-214) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
$117,518 - $152,771 per year. Locality Pay will be determined after selection.
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.