Legal Careers
Attorney Advisor
Washington, DC 20530 - United States
The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG), one of the premier federal inspector general offices, performs audits, evaluations, investigations, and special reviews of the personnel and programs of the DOJ components including the FBI, DEA, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, and the U.S. Attorneys' Offices. The OIG's mission is to detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct, and promote integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Department programs and operations. The OIG carries out its responsibilities with a nationwide work force of investigators, auditors, inspectors, attorneys, and support staff. OIG employees are provided with an array of benefits, outstanding development and training opportunities, and the opportunity to earn various forms of monetary and honorary recognition for significant contributions to the success of the OIG's mission. We are seeking motivated, dedicated, and talented professionals. If you are ready for a rewarding career with a dynamic organization, we encourage you to apply for this position with the OIG. The featured position of Attorney-Advisor is located in the OIG's Office of General Counsel (OGC). OGC's function, generally, is to provide legal advice and counsel on a broad range of topics to the IG and to OIG management and staff. This vacancy may be used to fill other similar and/or comparable positions throughout the agency within the stated duty station.
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.
As an Attorney Advisor, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing critical legal advice and technical services in support of the OIG's core oversight mission. Typical work assignments include:
1. Providing legal opinions or memoranda on complex and difficult issues of law relevant to general OIG operations or to particular OIG audits, investigations, inspections, or reviews, which encompass criminal, national security, ethics, and other issues.
2. Engaging in meetings, personal contacts, and telephone conferences with top legal and administrative personnel in the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, on important legal and policy questions and issues.
3. Acting as the principal attorney in charge of the preparation and presentation of cases before administrative bodies, and serving as the OIG's liaison with the litigating DOJ component in litigation to which the OIG is a party.
4. Analyzing and preparing recommendations for OIG responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and reviewing OIG reports for Privacy Act protected and proprietary information to clear such reports for public release.
5. Consulting and coordinating with OIG investigators in preparing recommendations for suspension and department actions by the Department against financially irresponsible parties doing business with the Department. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position you must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 5 years of post-J.D. experience.
In addition to the above requirements, to qualify at the GS-15 level, applicants must have 5 years post-J.D. legal experience, one (1) of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include providing legal opinions or memoranda on complex and difficult issues of law; reviewing and preparing recommendations for responses to subpoenas and other requests for production of materials; in depth knowledge of FOIA rules and regulations; and conducting litigation, including trying cases, before courts and administrative tribunal.
Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire. Failure to provide support may result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.
You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the below competencies. You are NOT required to provide a separate narrative written response. Rather, you must describe in your application how your present and/or past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below:
Extensive litigation experience, including drafting and filing legal briefs or memoranda as well as presenting evidence in proceedings before courts or administrative tribunals, with demonstrated abilities in the areas of written and oral advocacy.
Extensive experience analyzing complex legal issues, making statutory interpretations, and developing sound and supportable legal recommendations and arguments.
Thorough knowledge of legal principles and federal law, including familiarity with the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, employment law, contract law, and federal ethics regulations.
Ability to represent an organization professionally and articulate the organization's position at meetings and in interactions with high-level officials, and to coordinate with internal and external offices.
Required Documents:
A current resume showing relevant experience and dates the relevant experience was obtained. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through national service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, and social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Documentation showing you are currently an active member in good standing of the bar of any state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Veteran's preference documentation (if applicable).
Schedule A documentation (if applicable).
Your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire.
*** If you are interested in applying for this position please click on the below link.
$144,128.00 to $172,500.00 Per Year
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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.