Closing Date: 9th April, 2024
Description:
Summary:This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Coast Guard (USCG) Headquarters, Commandant (CG-08), National Pollution Funds Center, Legal Division (CL), in Washington, D.C.
Duties:
As a General Attorney-Advisor you will serve as a legal subject matter expert and guidance to staff members of the Center and associated field units. You are responsible for evaluating claims by and against Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and providing litigation support to the Department of Justice.
Being a CG civilian makes you a valuable member of the CG team. Typical work assignments at full performance include:
The NPFC was created to implement Title I of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), which addressed issues associated with preventing, responding to, and imposing liability for oil pollution. Title I of OPA established oil spill liability and compensation requirements, including the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) to provide funding for expeditious oil spill cleanups and reimbursement of uncompensated damages. Under the direction of the Chief of NPFC's Legal Division, this attorney will be responsible for handling highly complex and difficult types of legal work on behalf of the NPFC and must possess specialized expertise and broad experience in maritime and environmental law, federal litigation practice, debt collection law, fiscal law, oil and gas law, bankruptcy law, insurance law, administrative law, settlement negotiation, and public speaking. This attorney consults with and gives legal advice and guidance to Coast Guard officials on issues related to NPFC operations including the propriety of OSLTF expenditures and recovery of amounts owed to the OSLTF from responsible parties and guarantors. This attorney will recommend adjudicatory action on claims against the OSLTF in accordance with relevant statutes, regulations, and directives. This attorney will be required to prepare cases for litigation by the Department of Justice and defend against challenges to decisions by NPFC. This attorney also acts as Agency Counsel by supporting the Department of Justice when defending and prosecuting lawsuits arising from NPFC activities. The attorney may also be required to assist with preparing determinations adjudicating claims against the OSLTF and then assist with defending challenges to those determinations. The legal issues arising from damage claims can be diverse and involve significant amounts including claims for natural resource damages by federal and state trustees as well as Indian tribes.
Being a CG civilian makes you a valuable member of the CG team. Typical work assignments at full performance include:
- Researching, analyzing and evaluating the facts and law involved in lawsuits arising from NPFC activities or from claims by or against the OSLTF. Applying expert knowledge of federal litigation practice, admiralty and maritime law, environmental law, debt collection law, oil and gas law, natural resource damage law, insurance law, fiscal law, contract law, bankruptcy law, administrative law, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) law, ethical standards, and fiscal law.
- Extracting and organizing facts from case files, analyzing the facts in relation to the applicable law and drafting appropriate litigation referrals and reports. May be required to assist Department of Justice attorneys in pre-trial preparation through identifying additional facts, gathering and organizing evidence and preparing briefings and conducting discovery.
- Reviewing letters, memoranda, instructions, operating procedures, certificates and other documents for legal sufficiency and legal implications prior to issuance or publication.
- Collaborating, as appropriate, with officials from Coast Guard Headquarters and other Government agencies, members of private industry and public interest groups, the general public, and their attorneys on legal aspects of NPFC's involvement with oil spill and hazardous substance pollution matters.
- Providing legal representation for NPFC in dealing with Congress, the courts, and other federal, state and foreign government agencies, and provides legal counsel to NPFC regarding its relations with the general public and industry.
Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
- U.S. Citizenship is required.
- This position requires membership in the State Bar.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Unofficial J.D. or LL.B. transcript required at the time of application.
Qualifications:
All Candidates must possess a J.D. or LL.B degree from an accredited law school;
AND
Must be a member in good standing of the appropriate licensing authority of any state, territory of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or District of Columbia bar.
AND
To qualify for the GS-14 level position, you must have successfully completed at least one full year of Specialized Experience as a practicing attorney equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service as reflected in the nature and complexity of casework and legal issues for which responsible. The types and complexity of cases and work involved in handling them are evaluated to determine the level at which you have performed. ‘Specialized Experience' is experience that included duties requiring:
- Expert ability in federal litigation practice and procedure, with particular emphasis in environmental litigation, maritime litigation, and administrative law litigation;
- Expert abilities in admiralty law, maritime law, and environmental law including applicable regulations and industry practices;
- Expert knowledge and understanding of fiscal law, contract law, natural resource damages law, oil and gas law, bankruptcy law, FOIA/PA law, ethical standards, and procurement law;
- Expert in debt collection law and regulations controlling cost-recovery efforts by federal officials;
- Expert in insurance coverage for pollution provided by P&I clubs, insurance syndicates, and other insurers, insurance practices, deductibles, limits and defenses, and state direct action laws;
- Expert skill and ability in oral and written communication.
National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
The Office of Personnel management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule, C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
Note: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered.
Education:
This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.
All Candidates must possess a J.D. or LL.B degree from an accredited law school; AND, must be a member in good standing of the appropriate licensing authority of any state, territory of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or District of Columbia bar.
Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html)
