Attorney Advisor

Clarification from the agency

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) The public

The Office of Commissioner Samuel T. Negatu seeks an experienced attorney to serve as a principal legal advisor on antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) matters. The Attorney Advisor will provide legal analysis and recommendations to the Commissioner on investigations, reviews, litigation, and related Commission matters.

The position requires sound judgment, strong legal research and writing skills, and the ability to synthesize complex records and communicate the most important issues clearly and efficiently. The Attorney Advisor will work closely with Commission staff, other Commissioner offices, the Office of the General Counsel, and external stakeholders.

As an Attorney Advisor (Title VII) you will:

• Advise the Commissioner on antidumping and countervailing duty matters under Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930;
• Review staff reports, party submissions, briefs, hearing materials, exhibits, and other records in antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and reviews;
• Identify the material factual, legal, evidentiary, and procedural issues in each matter and recommend areas requiring the Commissioner's attention;
• Prepare the Commissioner for hearings, briefings, votes, and other proceedings through concise written and oral briefings, questions, and recommendations;
• Research and analyze statutes, regulations, Commission precedent, Federal Circuit decisions, and other relevant authorities.
• Assist the Commissioner in evaluating competing legal, factual, and economic arguments and determining appropriate approaches to complex issues;
• Draft and review Commission opinions, memoranda, statements, questions, and other legal documents;
• Assess the potential effect of Commission decisions on future investigations, Commission precedent, and administration of the trade-remedy laws;
• Work collaboratively across the Commission to analyze complex issues and evaluate competing legal, factual, and economic considerations;
• Engage with parties and other stakeholders, including counsel, industry representatives, trade associations, labor unions, and foreign government representatives, to understand relevant legal, factual, and economic perspectives on matters before the Commission; and
• Represent the Commissioner in discussions with other Commissioner offices, the Office of the General Counsel, investigative staff, economists, and other Commission personnel.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship required
• Ability to obtain and maintain a background investigation
• Graduation from an American Bar Association-accredited law school
• You will be required to submit proof of your active Bar membership (e.g., Bar card, certificate of good standing, attorney-directory listing, signed certification by the applicant).
• You may be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement.

Qualifications

In addition to the specialized experience and educational requirements above, applicants must 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.

You will be required to submit proof of your Bar membership as part of your application package to show that you meet this requirement. Any offer is contingent on receipt of a letter or certificate of good standing for each bar of which the applicant is an active member dated within 30 days of any offer.

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 that provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

To qualify at the GS-15 level, applicants must have at least five years of experience that have provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position. This experience must consist of the following: one year of general experience, which is defined as professional legal experience of a broad, general nature, not requiring specialization or expertise in a specific area or type of law AND four years of specialized experience, which is defined as substantial experience in antidumping and/or countervailing duty law, including experience involving proceedings before the U.S. International Trade Commission or U.S. Department of Commerce, or substantial experience in closely related international trade remedy matters.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience practicing before the U.S. International Trade Commission
• Experience with Federal Circuit or U.S. Court of International Trade litigation
• Experience advising senior government officials, agency leadership, or other principal-level decision-makers
• Federal administrative law experience
• Judicial clerkship experience

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. LEGAL KNOWLEDGE
2. LEGAL ANALYSIS AND REVIEW
3. ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

BASIS OF RATING: Your resume will be evaluated by a Subject Matter Expert Panel (SME).Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience(s) and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. In order to fully evaluate your application and receive proper credit, your resume should include: (1) paid and non-paid experience, job title, dates held (month and year for qualifying purposes to receive credit), number of hours worked per week, and salary (2) knowledge of the subject matter and technical skills pertinent to this position; (3) specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work; and (4) names and phone numbers of your current and/or previous supervisor(s).

Your resume should contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying.Your resume and supporting documentation 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 that you provide to us. Insufficient resumes and application packages will result in loss of consideration.

Your experience and education is also evaluated using an assessment questionnaire, which is available at the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13049389

1. Resume: Your resume may be in any written format you choose. To be sufficient, it should contain the required information as specified in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. Insufficient resumes, or resumes that contain inappropriate information, such as privacy information or photographs, will result in an ineligible rating.

2. Self-Assessment Questionnaire: You must submit a completed job-specific self-assessment questionnaire through your Application Manager account.

3. Proof of Bar Membership: You must provide documentation 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. Writing Sample: You must submit a legal writing sample that is at least 3, and no more than 10, pages in length. Excerpts of larger documents are acceptable. Samples that have not been edited by others are preferred. You must indicate whether the sample(s) is unedited or the degree to which it has been edited by others. You must also make appropriate redactions.

6. SF-50: If you are a current or former federal employee, you must submit a copy of an SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action," which documents your highest permanent grade/step/salary held.

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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