Attorney-Advisor (Real Property) Job in Location Negotiable After Selection

Vacancy No. CERH-25-12828797-DE Department U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Salary $105,383.00 to $137,000.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/5/2025 Close Date 11/19/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Location Negotiable After Selection


Summary

About the Position: As an Attorney-Adviser, you are responsible for researching, analyzing and providing legal advice during various stages of the real estate acquisition process.

The duty location may be negotiated after selection. The actual salary will be based on the geographic location of the individual(s) selected for this position.

This job is open to

The public

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

Clarification from the agency

The Public

Duties

  • Review proposed government acquisition of land, interests in land and acquisition packages covering direct purchase, leases, easements, or donation of real property.
  • Research, analyze and provide legal advice during various stages of the real estate acquisition process.
  • Conduct public records research and reviews conveyance and mortgage records in order to ascertain title ownership data and to identify encumbrances and liens on property.
  • Determine whether there are any encumbrances or title deficiencies and, if so, develops and recommends curative actions to be taken.
  • Identify and draft legal instruments, such as releases, disclaimers, and subordination documents or reviews documents prepared by paralegals.
  • Serve as a qualified Closing Agent, responsible for the preparation, review and clearance of all necessary documents for acquisitions and/or relocations.
  • Prepare and coordinate the Condemnation Assembly, to include drafting the Opinion of Title for Condemnation.
  • Review Contracts, Affidavits, Permits, Rights of Entry, Releases, Mortgages, Assignments, and other legal instruments prepared by paralegals, attorneys, and/or real estate professionals.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • This position requires a financial disclosure OGE-450 and annually thereafter in accordance with DoD Directive 5500-7-R.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for Attorney-Adviser (Real Property):

A. Degree: full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LL.B or JD). (must provide a copy)

In addition to meeting the education basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience: Two or more years of professional legal experience which includes 1) providing legal advice during various stages of the real estate acquisition process.; 2) reviewing legal documents to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and policies. 3) drafting documents associated with real estate acquisitions; 4) Preparing attorney title opinions consistent with statutory and constitutional requirements; 5) Reviewing all legal instruments and/or documents with potential legal ramifications. (Experience must be documented in your resume.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position: must possess either an advance law degree such as an LLM (masters of law) or graduated with a distinguished record from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class which may be substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience after being admitted to the bar. Examples of this experience are: 1) providing legal advice during various stages of the real estate acquisition process.; 2) reviewing legal documents to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and policies. 3) drafting documents associated with real estate acquisitions; 4) Preparing attorney title opinions consistent with statutory and constitutional requirements; 5) Reviewing all legal instruments and/or documents with potential legal ramifications. (Experience must be documented in your resume.)

Bar Membership: An applicant must currently be an active member in good standing of the Bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (must provide a copy)

Fitness to Practice Law: An applicant must currently be fit to practice law. If your fitness to practice law, or your conduct has ever been challenged you must submit a sworn statement giving the facts and circumstances, together with any explanations you consider appropriate. The sworn statement should be notarized and dated within 3 months of the date of your application. (If you are currently employed as an attorney with The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this requirement does not apply to you).

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-12).

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • One year trial/probationary period may be required.
  • Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
  • This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • This is a Legal Career Field position
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
  • A Relocation, Recruitment, Student Loan Repayment, Advance in Hire or Advance Leave Accrual incentive may be authorized if it is in the best interest of the government.
  • Situational Telework may be authorized at the discretion of the agency.
  • Position may be filled as a Term Appointment NTE 6 years. Term appointments may be extended beyond six (6) years, up to eight (8) years. With DoD approval, term appointments may be extended beyond eight (8) years.
  • Current permanent Federal employees (to include permanent Army employees) applying for a Term Appointment will be appointed/converted into a Term Appointment with no statutory return rights back to a permanent position.

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.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, 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.

1. Your resume:

  • Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
  • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
  • Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
  • 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.
  • For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.
2. Other supporting documents:
  • Cover Letter, optional
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
  • This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses
In addition to the above documentation, you must also provide the following:

3. If you are a current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attorney, you MUST submit the following documents:
  • Your latest non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50);
  • A writing sample (Optional, Not Required) NOTE: Writing samples shall not exceed 10 pages
4. If you are NOT a current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attorney, you MUST submit the following documents:
  • Copy of law school transcripts AND an official statement of relative standing in your class, or official statement demonstrating the unavailability of class standing information (official copies will be required if selected and before placement);
  • Certificate issued by the Bar Registrar or similar official showing that you are a member in good standing with the Bar, dated NO MORE THAN 3 months before the opening date of this announcement (a copy is sufficient for the application, but a certified copy may be necessary upon selection);
  • A sworn statement, certifying that your fitness to practice law or your conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction. This statement MUST be notarized, on a date NO MORE THAN 3 months before the opening date of this announcement. If your fitness to practice law or your conduct as an Attorney has been challenged in any jurisdiction, you must provide a notarized statement concerning the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation that you deem appropriate;
  • The names of three professional references who are each members of the Bar of a State or Territory; and
  • A writing sample NOTE: Writing samples shall not exceed 10 pages

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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 questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/19/2025 to receive consideration.

  • 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 (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12828797).
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete.
  • It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
  • Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), 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://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Website
https://portal.chra.army.mil/hr_public?id=app_inq
Address
RH-W07106 US ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT-OMAHA
DO NOT MAIL
Omaha, NE 68102
US

Next steps

If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.