Attorney-Adviser

Department of Defense

Defense Legal Services Agency

Military Justice Review Panel

Summary

Serves as an Attorney-Adviser providing senior legal counsel to the Military Justice Review Panel (MJRP). This position is located in Arlington, Virginia. This is an excepted service position and does not confer competitive status.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

This is an excepted service attorney position open to the public. Applications will be accepted from U.S. Citizens. This position is filled under DoD civilian attorney hiring procedures and is not subject to the standard competitive-service examining process.

Duties

This is an Excepted Service position in the 0905 Attorney series and is governed by DoD Instruction 1442.02, Personnel Actions Involving Civilian Attorneys.

The incumbent performs a range of senior legal duties, which typically include:

Providing expert legal advice, analysis, and counsel to the Military Justice Review Panel (MJRP) on statutory responsibilities related to independent periodic reviews and assessments of the operation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Advising the Staff Director, Military Justice Review Panel (MJRP) on maters arising under Article 146, UCMJ, and other advisory entities requiring such support.
Conducting extensive legal research and analysis of case law, statutes, regulations, policy issuances, congressional reports, testimony, and data related to military justice, criminal law and other complex or emerging legal issues.
Reviewing, analyzing, and providing comments on proposed legislation, draft legislative language, and legislative reports, including identifying legal implications and resolving issues related to Department of War and MJRP legislative proposals.
Performing detailed comparative legal analysis of military, federal, state, and comparable foreign justice systems to support research, policy development, findings, and recommendations.
Working in a team to organize legal research plans; preparing reports, findings, recommendations, letters, memoranda, and briefing materials; coordinating hearings, site visits, interviews, and presentations; and ensuring compliance with applicable information management, safeguarding, and advisory board requirements.
Exercises significant initiative in accomplishing the position's assigned missions.
Ensures that the supported organizations comply with all applicable laws, rules, and procedures governing advisory committees and is responsible for ensuring the production of timely, high-quality written reports and correspondence.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen
Application materials must be received by 11:59PM EST on the closing date
This is a drug testing designated position
This is an Excepted Service position
Males born after December 31, 1959, must be registered for Selective Service: https://www.sss.gov
The incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a SECRET security clearance
The incumbent may be required to work other than normal duty hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays and/or overtime
This position may require occasional travel away from your normal duty station for official business on military or commercial aircraft
Full professional training in law as evidenced by graduation from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited U.S. law school is required
Must be admitted to the bar, and be a member, on active status in good standing, of a federal court or the highest court of a state, territory, district, or commonwealth
A current, valid license to practice law in a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a condition of continued employment
Required to participate in the direct deposit program

Qualifications

Applicants must possess:

A first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) - (Must submit a copy of your transcripts with the degree conferred date, failure to do will result in an incomplete application.); and
Active membership in the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia, with authority to engage in the active practice of law. For applicants selected from outside a current DoD civilian attorney position, bar status must be verified by an official current certificate from the licensing jurisdiction or through clear online verification from the licensing authority

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:
To qualify at the GS-15 level, applicants must have:

Professional legal experience in excess of 3 years that is commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position; and
Demonstrated ability to perform with substantial independence on the most complex or difficult legal matters.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service program (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.

All qualifications must be met at the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Applicants must possess a first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) from an accredited law school. Education alone is not sufficient for qualification at the GS-15 level; applicants must also meet the active bar membership and specialized experience requirements described in this announcement.

Applicant must possess a professional law degree, (Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (J.D.)), from a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any state, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing. You must submit a copy of both your law school and college transcript with your application. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. Official transcripts will be required if you are selected for the position.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions.

Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.abanet.org/legaled/approvedlawschools/approved.html

Foreign Education:
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet 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. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, please click Foreign Education.

Additional information

This is an excepted service appointment and does not confer competitive status.

Candidates must disclose any pending or completed disciplinary investigation or action in any jurisdiction in which they are members of the bar or licensed to practice law, consistent with applicable DoD attorney professional responsibility requirements.

Notice of Veteran's Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., DD Form 214, "Certificate of Uniformed Service") to their submissions. Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed.

Military Spouse Preference: Military spouse preference will be considered, as applicable, consistent with DoDI 1400.25, Volume 315, and DoDI 1442.02. Application of military spouse preference may not contravene veterans' preference or nepotism rules.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing an online application, you may request an alternative application. Please send an email to the following address for information on how to obtain an alternative application: whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil

Reemployed Annuitants: Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. /www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/

Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

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

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:

legal experience,
subject matter expertise,
professional accomplishments,
writing and analytical ability,
and other job-related factors demonstrating ability to perform the duties of the position.

Selections for DoD civilian attorney positions are made on the basis of merit, with the objective of identifying the highest-caliber, most qualified candidate.

Required Documents

A complete application package includes your resume and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further:

Resume - A complete resume demonstrating relevant experience including job titles, duties, and accomplishments. The resume must provide sufficient detail for each position to demonstrate that the applicant meets the minimum qualification requirements. If an applicant submits multiple resumes, only the most recently submitted resume will be reviewed to determine qualifications and eligibility for referral to the Selecting Official.

NOTE: The maximum number of pages accepted for a resume is TWO pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
Cover letter - Address demonstrated interests and/or qualifications as they relate to this position. Cover letters must not exceed two pages.
Law school transcript(s) - This position has an individual occupational requirement for education. You MUST submit a copy of your transcript(s) with your application package, or you may be rated ineligible. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but official transcripts will be required prior to entry on duty.
Certificate of Active Bar Status: Certificate of good standing from the Bar of a state, territory or commonwealth of the United States (e.g., American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), or the District of Columbia. Document should be dated within three (3) months of the date the application is submitted. If the document has been ordered, but not arrived, you may provide a screenshot of your certificate (clearly showing a time/date within the last 90 days) which validates your current, active status.
Writing sample - Applicants must submit a writing sample of no more than 10 pages that demonstrates their legal research, analysis, and writing ability.
Veterans' preference documentation, if applicable:
- DD-214
- SF-15 for 10-point preference, if applicable
- Supporting documentation for claimed preference
Current or former Federal employee documentation (if applicable): Applicants who are current or former Federal employees may submit an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, to document Federal service, grade, and pay history, if relevant.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. If an application limit has been reached, the vacancy may close prior to the stated closing date.

To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. To ensure full consideration of your experience and education we encourage you to use the USAJOBS resume builder to prepare your resume or to guide you in preparing your resume. See http://www.usajobs.gov/Content/pdfs/Tutorials-Resume.pdf for more information.

PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.

Human Resources will not modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.

Agency contact information

Washington HQ Services

Email: whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil

Address: Defense Legal Services Agency
Human Resources Directorate
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.

After a tentative job offer, we will conduct a security background investigation and drug screening. If the drug screening is negative and security background is cleared, then a formal job offer will be extended to candidate.

Attorney-Adviser Job in Arlington, VA