Administrative Law Judge

Clarification from the agency

This position is in the excepted service and open to all eligible candidates (US Citizens) who meet qualifications of the position.

The Commission seeks an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to prepare for and preside at hearings and formal proceedings within the jurisdiction of the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) presides over and conducts hearings and formal proceedings within the jurisdiction of the U.S. International Trade Commission. These proceedings involve, but may not be confined to, Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which concerns issues related to intellectual property rights (including patents, trademarks, trade secrets and unfair trade practices), as well as economic and business issues. Approximately 90 percent of the proceedings involve patent rights. Technologies relating to computer and telecommunications devices, chemical compositions and processes, medical and industrial equipment, and consumer products are often at issue in these proceedings.

The ALJ administers oaths and affirmations, rules upon motions, controls discovery, regulates the course of evidentiary hearings and receives relevant evidence, holds conferences regarding settlement and other issues, and disposes of procedural requests or similar matters. The ALJ issues, inter alia, initial determinations and factual findings, as well as recommended determinations regarding remedy, which may be reviewed by the Commission.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You will be required to successfully complete a background investigation.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance.
• You must provide proof of your Bar membership.
• You are required to register for Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/03/1959.
• You may be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement.
• You must provide a Certificate of Good Standing of the bars to which you are admitted, if you are made an offer.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must have the general and specialized experience outlined below which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

To be hired as an Administrative Law Judge with us, you must:

• possess at least a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND
• currently be a member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, applicants must have at least 10 years of total experience as one or more of the following:

1. A Federal Administrative Law Judge;
2. A Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") Judge;
3. A judge in a federal tribunal with jurisdiction over intellectual property, international trade, or unfair competition matters;
4. An attorney litigating before the USITC in Section 337 investigations, and/or litigating before a federal tribunal in matters involving intellectual property, international trade, or unfair competition claims, such as trade secret misappropriation, false advertising under the Lanham Act, or antitrust;
5. A Clerk or similar position to a judge in a federal tribunal with jurisdiction over intellectual property, international trade, or unfair competition matters.

AND

The applicant must have at least 10 years of substantial experience in section 337 litigation before the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), or in intellectual property litigation and/or unfair competition litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, or U.S. federal agencies, through one or more of the following activities:

1. Drafting complaints and other pleadings and conducting pre-filing investigations;
2. Conducting prehearing disclosure and discovery, including conducting and defending depositions; preparing discovery requests and responses; conducting foreign discovery; conducting forensic examinations;
3. Preparing prehearing motions, opinions, or orders (including summary judgment motions);
4. Conducting or presiding over settlement or negotiations in advance of the hearing;
5. Participating in oral arguments or conferences before the presiding judge or officer;
6. Preparing for the hearing, including lay and expert witness preparation; preparing evidentiary exhibits, physical exhibits, and demonstratives;
7. Trying or hearing cases whether in person or via videoconference, including proceedings involving non-English speaking witnesses;
8. Preparing pre-hearing and post-hearing briefs or opinions;
9. Preparing petitions for review and responses thereto;
10. Participating in or conducting arbitration, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution;
11. Participating in post-order ancillary proceedings (e.g., modification proceedings; enforcement proceedings; advisory opinion proceedings);
12. Participating in enforcement-related activity before U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and
13. Participating in appeals related to the types of cases described above.

Applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements identified above will be further evaluated to determine those who are best qualified. This determination will be based, in part, on the following factors. When describing your experience, please provide in your resume several examples explaining the following factors:

1. Substantial courtroom experience involving intellectual property rights, scientific or technical subject matter, and/or unfair competition claims (please identify with specificity);
2. Knowledge of Section 337 law;
3. Knowledge of patent law;
4. Knowledge of other intellectual property and unfair competition law;
5. Experience and/or education in technical, scientific, and/or other highly complex subject matter;
6. Evidence of clear and cogent written analyses of factual and legal issues, with supporting reasoning and case law, under significant time constraints (e.g. briefs or opinions authored by the applicant exhibiting significant legal and factual analyses);
7. Experience with rules and procedure governing federal court proceedings and/or federal agency proceedings conducted under the Administrative Procedure Act;
8. Evidence of oral communications in a manner that is clear, concise, and understandable, and to elicit facts by examining expert and lay witnesses (e.g., hearing transcripts; deposition transcripts and the like);
9. Demonstration of effective management and leadership of staff, including setting clear goals, maintaining accountability, taking corrective action promptly, fostering a collaborative environment, and setting an example by personally following the same policies applicable to supervised employees;
10. Demonstration of the appropriate temperament and qualities to serve as a judge, such as:
    • Demonstrated ability to view evidence in an objective fashion and carry out role as a fact finder;
    • Demonstrated ability to listen attentively and deal courteously, tactfully, firmly, and impartially with others in an adversarial or similar setting;
    • Demonstrated ability to establish effective work relationships with all levels of management, colleagues, and staff; and
    • Demonstrated ability to achieve cooperation and consensus among colleagues engaged in joint or parallel efforts.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

All minimally qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for review. Your resume, and supporting documentation for education, should contain sufficient information for us to make a valid determination that you fully meet the qualification requirements for this vacancy. We do not make inferences and can only consider the information you provide to us. Insufficient resumes and application packages will result in loss of consideration.

If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Your experience is also evaluated using an assessment questionnaire, which is available at the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12982876

To receive consideration, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified below by 07/29/2026.

1. Resume: Your resume should not exceed 2 pages and must demonstrate the specialized experience related to the position for which you are applying. If your resume goes beyond two pages, we will only consider the first two pages for the required experience as outlined in the specialized experience. It must contain the following information: (1) Name, address, telephone number, email address; (2) Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade); (3) If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy); (4) If other than full time you must provide hours worked per week.

PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed.

2. Occupational questionnaire: A completed job-specific occupational questionnaire should be submitted through your Application Manager account.

3. Proof of Bar Membership: Documentation must show that you are a member of the Bar of a state, territory or commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. If you are made an offer, you must submit a Certificate of Good Standing dated within 30 days of the offer.

4. Transcripts: You must submit a copy of your transcript(s), as specified under the Education section of this announcement. Unofficial transcripts are sufficient for application purposes, provided they show your classes, grades, dates of attendance and award of any degree. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

5. SF-50: Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, if applicable.

6. Cover Letter: This is optional.

7. Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney positions, which are in the excepted service; however, the Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring of all positions. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include such information in their cover letter, or resume, and submit supporting documents (e.g. DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) as part of their application package. Although the point preference system is not used as in the competitive service, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form 15 (SF-15), and documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed, as listed on the SF-15. Specific information is available on the Office of Personnel Management website at: http://www.opm.gov.

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