Clarification from the agency

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident alien status. Current career Postal Service employees are ineligible to apply to this posting.

The Postal Service offers a sophisticated intellectual property practice involving a wide range of complex matters and the opportunity to work for an organization providing a vital public service to the United States. The IP attorneys provide legal counsel to the Postal Service on a variety of intellectual property matters including:

• the selection, registration, maintenance, portfolio management, and enforcement of trademarks, patents, and copyright;
• technology matters, including negotiating software agreements and licenses, technology transfer and data purchase or sale agreements, API terms, platform terms and other agreements relating to information technology;
• clearance and pre-publication review of media and marketing materials, stamps, products, and services to avoid issues relating to copyright, trademark, and rights of privacy or publicity; and
• negotiating and drafting intellectual property provisions in license agreements.

1. Conducts legal research and prepares written material for use in representing the Postal Service and advising postal management officials.
2. Participates in conferences necessary to representing or advising Postal Service officials.
3. Directly advises postal management officials and represents the Postal Service in legal matters involving outside parties.
4. Prepares replies to inquiries from Congress, government agencies, and the public.
5. Prepares opinions, memoranda, decisions, regulations, testimonies, or formal filings in proceedings in which the Postal Service is a party.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident alien status.
• Current career Postal Service employees are ineligible to apply to this posting.
• Qualified applicant must successfully pass a drug screening.

Qualifications

The successful candidate must demonstrate knowledge and experience in intellectual property law, demonstrating expertise in one or more of the following subjects: trademark, copyright, patents, rights of publicity, licensing in the field of trademark and copyright, rights in technology and data, and trade secrets law.

The selected attorney may also be asked to advise on matters relating to trademark prosecution; enforcement of intellectual property rights; patent and other intellectual property litigation; Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) cases; Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA); domain name disputes; licensing of intellectual property; the rules and regulations of the United States Patent and Trademark Office; and other matters relating to intellectual property. The successful candidate's role in litigation will be to support primary litigation attorneys.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Ability to prepare pretrial briefs, motions, pleadings, responses and other documents to present the issues independently with little or no direct supervision.
2. Ability to provide legal advice and services with respect to regulations, practices, or other legal matters, and formulate opinions involving the analysis and interpretation of federal, state and local laws.
3. Ability to litigate cases before administrative bodies and federal courts.
4. Ability to communicate orally and in writing to include the ability to negotiate with third parties on behalf of clients and prepare legal documents and presentations.
5. Ability to conduct legal research to gather and interpret information and ensure accuracy of details using resources such as internal and external documents, archives, electronic databases, and interviews.
6. EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: To be eligible for the Attorney position, you must possess a Juris Doctorate from an American Bar Association accredited law school.
7. SPECIAL CONDITION: Qualified applicants must be a current member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Bar Association.
8. EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: At least 3 years of experience in legal practice, of which one year of the experience requirement may be met through the completion of a judicial clerkship if completed by the time of hire. The clerkship must be documented in the applicant's resume.
9. Experience practicing intellectual property law (trademark, copyright, rights of publicity, patents, licensing, and/or trade secrets).

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and evaluate your relevant professional, educational, and work experiences as it relates to fundamental competencies, identified in the Qualifications section above, required for this position.

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Writing sample

Next steps