Attorney-Adviser (General)

Closing Date: 8th May, 2024

Description:

Summary:
With an emphasis on high ethical standards, excellence in public service and the delivery of superlative advice and counsel, DOI Solicitor's Office performs the legal work for the United States Department of the Interior, and manages the Departmental Ethics Office and Departmental FOIA Office. With more than five hundred employees, more than four hundred of which are attorneys, the Office strives to provide sound legal services to fulfill the Department's diverse and wide-ranging mission.
As an Attorney-Adviser with the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Southeast Region, Atlanta Regional Office located in Atlanta, GA your specific duties will include:

• Provides legal advice and other legal services on matters within assigned areas of responsibility and represents the Secretary of the Interior and other officials of the Department in judicial and administrative proceedings.
• Some of the areas of practice include but are not limited to:
• Providing advice and other legal services to agencies of the Department of the Interior, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement, and National Park Service, on the acquisition or procurement of materiel and services; contracting; financial assistance and grants; land acquisition; real estate; memoranda of understanding; inter-agency agreements; and cooperative agreements.
• Providing advice and other legal services on matters relating to laws and regulations of general applicability to Federal agencies, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR), Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Privacy Act, Federal Records Act, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).
• Representing Interior agencies in administrative litigation, including matters before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.
• Providing litigation support on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior and Interior agencies to the Department of Justice.
• Representing the United States, the Secretary of the Interior, and other officials of the Department in quasi-judicial and administrative proceedings involving interests of the Department's bureaus and agencies.
• Providing litigation support on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior and Interior agencies to the Department of Justice.

First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
Key Requirements:

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Must be an active member of the bar.
• Selectee may be subject to serving a 2-year trial period.
• You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
• Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.

• A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• If selected for this position, you may be required to file one or more financial statements and/or a procurement integrity certification of compliance upon reporting and annually, some of which may be subject to public disclosure.
• Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
• Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.

Qualifications:
In order to better assess your qualifications for this position, when preparing your resume please be sure to address your experience in or familiarity with the following areas of legal work: researching and writing legal memoranda and opinions and providing legal advice or recommendations to clients, judges, and/or senior attorneys; litigating in Federal court and preparing transactional agreements and other documents; and evidentiary privileges and e-discovery, including familiarity with technology associated with the electronic search, retrieval, and review of documents. In addition, please address your experience in or familiarity with the following subject matter areas and legal authorities: Federal administrative law issues, such as matters arising under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)(including rulemaking), 25 C.F.R. Part 83, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (NRDAR), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), Clean Air Act (CAA) and/or Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act.

Basic Qualification Requirements:
Applicants must be law school graduates with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND applicants must be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

Applicants must also meet one of the following:--possess at least 1-year of professional legal experience following law school graduation; OR--have a second professional law degree; OR--meet any of the criteria indicated below:(a) academic standing in top one-third of law school graduating class;(b) graduation with academic honors;(c) significant participation on the law school's law review;(d) significant participation in the law school's moot court competition;(e) significant participation in a clinical legal aid program;(f) significant summer law office clerk experience; or(g) other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

GS-12/13/14: In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements described above, applicants must also have the following additional years of professional legal experience for the grade level indicated:

• GS-12 = 1 year
• GS-13 = 2 years
• GS-14 = 3 ½ years

Candidates should have excellent oral communication, writing, research and analysis skills, and the ability to work effectively with other people, and exercise sound judgment.

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.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education:
Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.

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