The individual (s) serves as an Attorney-Adviser, GS-0905, in the Office of Proceedings, which has primary responsibility for conducting legal research, developing recommended outcomes, and drafting decisions for cases before the Board, including adjudications and rulemaking decisons. The full performance grade level is a GS-15. The hiring official may select at any grade level from GS-11 through GS-15.

Duties

The major duties of this position are researching and drafting decisions in proceedings before the Board. The Board adjudicates, among others, the following types of proceedings: complaints of unreasonable railroad rates or practices; declaratory orders; licensing of rail line constructions, acquisitions, or abandonments; railroad mergers or acquisitions; and proceedings under the Board's limited jurisdiction over motor carriers, water carriage in the noncontiguous domestic trade, and certain pipelines. In preparing draft decisions, the selected attorneys will review the record before the agency and apply the relevant statutes, regulations, policies, and case law. Board decisions include summaries of relevant evidence, analysis of salient legal issues, and findings of fact, conclusions of law, and determinations of actions to be taken by the Board. The selected attorneys will lead meetings with staff from other offices within the Board to develop recommendations for resolving Board proceedings, lead briefings of the Board members to present staff recommendations, and draft legal memoranda, correspondence, or other materials as assigned.

Requirements

Qualifications

The Office of Personnel Management has not issued qualification standards for attorney positions. However, successful candidates must possess the following minimum qualifications before the closing date of this posting: However, STB sets minimum qualifications for attorney positions and sets forth these qualifications for this position. You must meet both requirements below: A. · A professional law degree (LL.B., J.D., LL.M.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA); · Upon entering duty, current membership in good standing of the bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia. Proof of bar membership will be required before entering on duty. All candidates must demonstrate through their application documents: excellent research and writing skills, incisive legal analytical ability, and strong oral advocacy and presentation skills. AND B. Specialized experience: GS-11 Level GS-11 candidates must possess their first professional law degree and a record of the first professional law degree demonstrating superior law student work or activities (e.g., superior academic standing, significant achievement in law school activities, or other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement i.e., law clerk experience or work experience significant to law school of record). GS-12 Level GS-12 candidates must have one year of professional legal experience: analyzing statutes, regulations, and decisional law, and presenting those analyses and relevant legal or policy issues for decision. Federal clerkships count towards creditable experience. GS-13 Level GS-13 candidates must have two years of professional legal experience: analyzing statutes, regulations, and decisional law, and presenting those analyses and relevant legal or policy issues for decision and resolving disputes. Federal clerkships count towards creditable experience. GS-14 Level GS-14 candidates must have three years of professional legal experience: analyzing statutes, regulations, and decisional law; presenting those analyses and relevant legal or policy issues for decision; resolving disputes, and must possess a legal background in transportation, economics, administrative law, or government regulation. Federal clerkships count towards creditable experience. GS-15 Level GS-15 candidates must have four years of professional legal experience: analyzing statutes, regulations, and decisional law, and presenting those analyses and relevant legal or policy issues for decision and resolving disputes in support of an efficient, competitive, and economically viable surface transportation network. Candidates at this level will also have experience providing advice on complex technical issues concerning rail transportation. Federal clerkships count towards creditable experience. A writing sample and cover letter are to be submitted with the application package. Only experience and education obtained by the cut-off dates of this announcement will be considered. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months, years, and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. To receive full consideration for specialized experience, please list month/year to month/year (XX/XX-XX/XX) or month/year to present (XX/XX-present) and the number of hours worked per week for each period of employment/experience listed in your resume. Your responses to the questionnaire must be supported/demonstrated in your resume. If a determination cannot be made about the length of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration.

Education

All applicants must possess a first professional law degree: J.D. or LL.B from an American Bar Association Law School, or equivalent training. Equivalent training is training permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at a law school. To be acceptable, this training must be of the kind and nature required by the state in which the bar exam is taken. A copy of your transcript(s) is required to show proof that you meet this requirement. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for more specific information.

Submit a copy of your transcript(s) or list of courses with credit hours, major(s) and grade-point average or class ranking. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials: http://www.naces.org/members.htm.

Contacts

• Address Surface Transportation Board 395 E Street, SW Washington, DC 20423 US
• Name: Cynthia McClam
• Phone: (202) 235-3887
• Email: [email protected]