Legal Careers
Attorney Advisor
Falls Church, VA 22041 - United States
The Office of Policy is responsible for all agency policy and regulatory review and development, internal and external communications, strategic planning, and legal education, research, and certifications. The Office of Policy includes the divisions of Communications and Legislative Affairs, Immigration Law, Legal Education and Research Services, and the Office of Legal Access Programs.
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.
The Attorney Advisor provides technical legal advice on the development and implementation of agency-wide policies for all agency functions.
Area of Consideration:
This position is open to Federal Employees.
Duties include but are not limited to the following:
- Drafts and conducts legal reviews of draft regulations, policy directives, and a variety of non-adjudicatory operations.
- Performs comprehensive research regarding newly enacted statutes, proposed Federal legislation and regulations, DOJ regulations, and policy statements; prepares legal memoranda necessary as related to such research.
- Provides sound recommendations in response to a wide range of questions of immigration law and policy involved in the operations of the Agency and the effect of such operations on other activities, Government agencies, industry, and the general public.
In order to qualify for the Attorney Advisor position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Education: Applicants must possess a LL.B., LL.M., or a J.D. degree.
-AND-
Bar Membership: Applicants must be an active member of the bar, duly licensed and authorized to practice law as an attorney under the laws of a U.S. state, territory, Puerto Rico or the District of Columbia (include the month and year of your admission to the bar).
-AND-
Experience: Applicants must have two years of professional legal experience that includes the following:
For the GS-13 grade level, the ideal candidate will have:
- Providing legal advice on draft and implemented federal regulations and agency policies; AND
- Assisting in the identification of new developments or issues that may require the development and implementation of legal policy, including issues without legal precedent; AND
- Conducting legal research and analysis on program authorities, fiscal law considerations, or other general law issues relevant to the planning and implementation of agency activities; AND
- Assisting in assuring that policies and procedures are consistent with the intent of the law and are administratively sound and operationally efficient and economical.
Experience: Applicants must have three years of professional legal experience that includes the following:
For the GS-14 grade level, the ideal candidate will have:
- Rendering expert advice and guidance to executive and senior leadership on complex matters concerning organization-level programs or operations; AND
- Providing comprehensive research and preparation of legal memoranda necessary to clarify and provide legal interpretations of immigration provisions, directives, and regulations; AND
- Providing legal interpretation of newly-enacted statutes, proposed Federal legislation, and regulations; AND
- Proposing the development of policies and procedures in response to legal cases or problems that have the effect of substantially broadening or restricting the activities of the agency.
NOTE: Qualifying experience is calculated only after receipt of J.D. or LL.B.
APPLICANTS MUST MEET ALL QUALIFICATIONS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
To apply, interested candidates should:
• Submit your resume; a cover letter that highlights the applicant’s interest in the position, and addresses in detail how they meet the qualifications; and a short writing sample or part of a longer writing sample (not to exceed ten pages), which should be exclusively or primarily the applicant’s work and should include legal analysis, via email to the EOIR.HR_Application_Review@usdoj.gov
Current salary and years of experience will determine the appropriate salary level. The possible salary range is GS-13 ($103,690- $134,798) and GS-14 (122,530 -$159,286) per annum
* * *
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.
* * *
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.