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 500 total employees, more than 400 of which are licensed attorneys, the Office strives to provide sound legal services to fulfill the Department's diverse and wide-ranging mission.

Duties

As an Attorney-Adviser with the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Pacific Southwest Region, located in Sacramento, CA your specific duties will include: The incumbent will represent the United States, the Secretary of the Interior, and other officials of the Department in legal matters and administrative proceedings involving interests of the Department's bureaus; advise top officials and program managers within the Department's bureaus with respect to the impact and interpretation of pending and approved Federal or State legislation or regulations and recent judicial and administrative decisions relating to bureau activities; advise the Secretary and other officials of the Department regarding judicial and administrative litigation on matters within assigned areas of responsibility arising out of the various programs and activities; review and prepare litigation reports, draft pleadings, appeal recommendations, settlement proposals, and other documents related to litigation; provide legal advice and counsel during negotiations with other Federal agencies, states, or litigants; and serve as a Departmental legal advisor and author of documents arising out of bureau and agency program activities. Areas of practice include, but are not limited to, natural resources and public land law, environmental law, energy and mining law, administrative law, water law, and contracts. Statutes that the incumbents must be familiar with include, but are not limited to, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Administrative Procedure Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Mineral Leasing Act, Energy Policy Act of 2005, Taylor Grazing Act, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and Federal Advisory Committee Act. The incumbents must also be able to interpret and provide advice related to the various regulations implementing the above statutes, as well as regulations implementing bureau programs, including land sales, land acquisition, land exchanges, rights-of-way, land tenure, and land use planning. Salary Range GS-12: $ 96,148 to $124,988 GS-13: $ 114,332 to $148,636 GS-14: $ 135,107 to $175,641 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. This position is in the excepted service and not subject to competitive service procedures. Merit promotion procedures do not apply.

Requirements

Qualifications

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 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. In order to better assess your qualifications for this position, when preparing your resume and cover letter please be sure to address any experience you may have 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; evidentiary privileges and e-discovery, including any 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: natural resource and environmental law; Federal administrative law issues, such as matters arising under the Administrative Procedure Act; the Federal Land Management and Policy Act; National Environmental Policy Act; or other areas of law relating to management and use of public lands. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website:https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp 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. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Contacts

• Address
• Name: Veronica Nunez
• Email: [email protected]