Legal Careers
General Attorney (Ethics Counsel)
Washington, DC 20535 - United States
Mission Statement: The mission of the FBI is to protect the American People and uphold the Constitution of the United States.
Ethics and Integrity Unit (EIU):
The Office of Integrity and Compliance, Ethics and Integrity Unit will cultivate an environment committed to ethical principles and serve as a focal point for implementation of the federal ethics laws, to include the standards of conduct. As custodians of the FBI's Core Values, the unit will assist FBI management at all levels in maintaining a culture where adherence to ethical principles and the FBI's core values are emphasized as a paramount consideration in decisions throughout the FBI.
The Ethics and Integrity Unit provides advice to FBI employees on a variety of ethics and standards of conduct issues including, but not limited to: gifts, conflicts of interest, political activities, teaching-speaking-writing activities, travel, outside employment, employee involvement in outside activities, post-government service employment restrictions, fundraising, misuse of position, ethics training requirements, financial disclosure reporting, and misuse of government time and property.
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.
- Serves as a general attorney and ethics counselor within the Ethics and Integrity Unit (EIU), supporting the FBI's Deputy Designated Agency Ethics Official (DDAEO) responsibilities and related requirements, including implementing the ethics standards established by: federal conflict of interest statutes: Office of Government Ethics (OGE) regulations: DOJ supplementary regulations: as well as the FBI's Code of Conduct, Ethics, Integrity and Core Value Programs, and any related policies and procedures.
- Reviews, researches, and advises (in writing and orally), as well as trains, FBI employees on such ethics standards and related matters.
- Reviews, and advises accordingly, on confidential and public financial disclosure reports.
- Plans, performs, collaborates and completes self-identified or assigned work on such ethics standards and related matters.
- Support, as needed, the Compliance Program.
- Establishes and maintains effective relationships with FBI leadership, its employees, DOJ officials, other members of the law enforcement and intelligence community, as well as industry partners, on such ethics standards and related matters.
Please make sure your specialized experience/requirement(s) can be identified in your resume. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Your application will be evaluated and rated under the FBI's Candidate Rating Procedures. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement and will be compared to your responses to the online assessment questionnaire. High self-assessment in the vacancy questions that is not supported by information in your resume, and/or supporting documents may eliminate you from Most Competitive status.
Your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Most Competitive, Competitive, or Lease Competitive. Names of candidates in the Most Competitive category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration. Veterans' preference will be considered.
The following instructions outline our application process: Please visit www.fbijobs.gov to apply.
Step 1: Click the “Start” button to begin an application. You will be prompted to either Sign In to continue the application or to register with FBIJOBS if you don't already have an account.
Step 2: Follow the Step by Step process to submit an application. You will be guided through each step in the process. You are required to complete all sections of the application to successfully submit your application.
GS-14: $139,395.00 - $181,216.00 (Locality); GS-15: $163,964.00 - $191,900.00 (Locality)
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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.