Closing Date: 1st December, 2025
Description:
Summary:Join the fast-paced federal litigation practitioners of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) District Court Litigation Division (DCLD) as an Associate Legal Advisor (ALA) and leverage your legal experience to protect the homeland.
These positions offers up to $50,000 in signing and retention bonuses.
These positions are located at OPLA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Duties:
OPLA is the largest legal program in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), employing nearly 2,000 attorneys nationwide. OPLA provides a full range of legal services to all ICE programs and offices and serves as the exclusive representative of DHS in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Selected attorneys will fill the Associate Legal Advisor (ALA) position and primarily serve as DHS's agency counsel by representing agency interests in civil litigation and through the adjudication of administrative tort claims. ALAs work closely with the DHS Office of the General Counsel (OGC), other DHS component legal offices, and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entities, such as Civil Division, including the Office of Immigration Litigation, Torts Branch, as well as U.S. Attorney's Offices throughout the nation.
ALAs in DCLD manage civil litigation against ICE and cases that otherwise impact ICE equities or its personnel. This includes assisting ICE personnel, OGC, and DOJ in all aspects of federal civil litigation, including: the development of legal strategy and arguments, motion practice, discovery, settlement negotiations, trials, and appeals in cases ranging from common-law torts suits, lawsuits under and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), and suits seeking injunctive or declaratory relief under the Constitution, including class actions. ALAs also adjudicate administrative claims for personal injuries and property damage pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. 2671-2680. ALAs also conduct training regarding litigation risk; and represent ICE's interests in litigation-related discussions with other agencies and DHS components. ALAs may also be called upon to respond timely and thoroughly to agency taskings, as well as draft and provide opinion and comment on legislative proposals.
The selected attorney(s) will immediately be given significant responsibilities and will be expected to research and craft persuasive, legally supportable positions to address the needs of agency operational components. Timely oral and written guidance will be routinely provided to ICE officers and agents, division management, and senior leadership within OPLA, ICE, and OGC by the selected attorney(s).
OPLA will ensure that applicants with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations when appropriate. If reasonable accommodation is required for any part of the application process, please contact the OPLA representative listed on this announcement.
Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
- You must successfully pass a background investigation and drug test for federal employment.
- Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31, 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
- You must have relevant experience (see How You Will Be Evaluated and Qualifications tabs).
- You must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
- You may be required to serve a two-year trial period if the requirement has not been met.
- Current OPLA attorneys must have completed two years of service with OPLA by the announcement closeout to be considered for this position.
- You must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a U.S. state, a territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
Qualifications:
Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.
In light of the nature of DCLD's work, attorney assignments are fast-paced, high-profile, and need to be addressed in real-time. The attorneys selected in response to this announcement will be given significant responsibilities on an immediate basis. Selectees must possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities, characteristics, and competencies: adept at prioritizing multiple assignments, exercising sound legal and practical judgment, efficiently producing quality legal analyses of complex and novel legal issues, and working effectively in a fast-paced environment both individually and as part of a team. Applicants should also demonstrate the ability to take initiative and work in a reliable, decisive, and professional manner.
Bar Membership: You must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a U.S. state, a territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
Current or Former Political Appointees: 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 five 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.
The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 C.F.R. 213.3102(u), and Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 C.F.R. 315.707. Veterans (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job-seekers/special-hiring-authorities/#content), Peace Corps (https://www.peacecorps.gov/returned-volunteers/careers/noncompetitive-eligibility/), VISTA volunteers (https://www.vistacampus.gov/after-vista/career, and persons with disabilities (http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/) possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
Education:
Applicants must be graduates of an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or LLM degree.
A student loan repayment incentive may be available; if such an incentive is available and is authorized, a service agreement will be required.
Additional Information:
E-Verify: DHS uses E-Verify to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify (http://www.e-verify.gov/) including your rights and responsibilities.
Bargaining Unit Status: This is a non-bargaining unit position.
Promotion Potential: This position has promotion potential to the GS-15 level. When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform duties at a higher level and administrative approval. Further, promotion from the GS-14 level to the GS-15 level is subject to OPLA's internal guidance.
General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/)
Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the Excepted Service; however, OPLA considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring.
Financial Disclosure: If you are hired, you may be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days after appointment.
Suitability: If you receive a conditional offer of employment, you must complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment (http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/OF0306.pdf), and sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
Background Investigation: DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet these standards, all selected applicants for this position must undergo a background investigation and successfully obtain and maintain a security clearance at the Top Secret/Secret level as a condition of placement into this position. This process may include a credit check, a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support, and tax obligations, and a review of certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
