About the Position: This is a permanent position with Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Office of Chief Counsel, South Atlantic Division. This is an excepted service position without time limitation and will not be filled by a competitive appointment. Service in this position may be fully creditable toward civil service retirement. Any selected applicant who is in the competitive service will be taken out of the competitive service when he or she occupies this position.

Duties

Identifies, researches, and addresses extremely complex and difficult legal questions affecting United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) missions. Prepares legal opinions, or other legal instruments, and renders advice to clients on matters which require for their solution a high order of original and creative legal endeavor in order to obtain a reasonable balance of conflicting interests. Provides advice regarding national programs is reviewed by supervisor for consistency with agency policy before it is rendered to clients. Represents the office to which assigned in meetings, negotiations, conferences, presentations, hearings, administrative litigation, or other forums, with municipal, state, other federal agencies, and private stakeholders. Renders legal advice and assistance (either oral or in writing as required) to all elements of the Command in response to inquiries on numerous types of miscellaneous problems arising from day-to-day operations. Performs legal research necessary to furnish correct solutions and to explain probable results of various alternatives that may be developed.

Requirements

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• This position requires the incumbent to maintain active bar membership, in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens The minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration: Bar membership: Applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Professional Legal Experience: For GS-14 equivalent - Applicant must have three or more years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LLM may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience. NOTE: ALL APPLICANTS SHOULD ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES, IN NARRATIVE FORM: a. Legal advice on complex issues. Ability to advice on general matters to include interpretation of authorizing and appropriations legislation and administrative law matters. Ability to perform research and analysis, obtaining and evaluating expert information or testimony, and issues involving extremely complex and difficult legal questions in the drafting of agreements and memoranda, and in the interpretation of multiple overlapping or conflicting statutory authorities. Ability to conduct factual legal research in connection with complex policy issues related to federal environmental law, contract law, project authorizations, and employee and labor relations cases. Ability to work independently in investigating the facts, researching legal precedents, defining the legal and factual issues and, drafting necessary legal documents. b. Represent office. Ability to represent the Division at hearings, meetings, negotiations, conferences, presentations, hearings, administrative litigation, or other forums with municipal, state, or other federal agencies and stakeholders from other sectors (e.g., private, non-profit). c. Legal advice on miscellaneous legal issues. Ability to advise Division Engineer and Division staff on miscellaneous matters within the USACE mission, such as ethics, conferences, and administrative authorities. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government you must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

Education

An applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD).

Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov//admins/finaid/accred/index.html.Foreign education must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency in order to be considered for this position. Please include this information in your resume.

Contacts

• Address RA-W4EGAA HQ US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS DO NOT MAIL Washington, DC 20314 US
• Name: Army Applicant Help Desk
• Email: [email protected]