General Attorney Job in Nashville, TN

Vacancy No. CERE244792136160D Department U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Salary $122,198.00 to $158,860.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/18/2024 Close Date 11/8/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Nashville, TN


Summary

About the Position: This position is located with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District, Office of Counsel, where you will function as the Deputy District Counsel for the Nashville District Office of Counsel and render legal advice, assistance and support to the District Commander, Deputy Commander, and other Division Chiefs on a range of legal issues.

Duties

  • Function as full deputy to the District Counsel and, as such, participates thoroughly in the accomplishment of overall office activities and objectives.
  • Review work of subordinates, determining legal sufficiency, conformance to policy, and general soundness of legal conclusions.
  • Provide primary legal support for accomplishment of the Corps’ regulatory permit program under the River and Harbor Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, and manage litigation pertaining to the Corps regulatory program.
  • Render legal advice, assistance, and services on environmental and cultural resource compliance issues pertaining to civil work projects, programs, and activities conducted by District staff under federal laws and regulations.
  • Furnish legal advice and assistance in fiscal law and procurement matters from contract formation through dispute resolution.
  • Provide litigation assistance to the United States Attorney and Department of Justice attorneys responsible for trying litigation.
  • Supervise paraprofessional and legal administrative assistant staff.
  • Furnish legal advice and assistance in fiscal law and procurement matters from contract formation through dispute resolution.
  • Serve as Senior Principal Assistant District Counsel for all procurement matters.

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 Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and 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 and your transcripts are required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration.

Education: Applicants must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association(ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD).

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Experience: Applicants must have two or more years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LLM may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience.

VETERANS PREFERENCE INFORMATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Army considers veteran's preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veteran's preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documents (e.g., DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) 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. (SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at http://www.opm.gov/.)

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.
  • 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.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction.htm for more information.
  • Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.

Benefits

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.

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. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

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.

Note: 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:
- Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. 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 qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.

Official Transcripts:
- Official law school transcript and an official statement of relative standing in class.
- Photocopies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering duty. See: Transcripts and Licenses

Official Certificate:
- Official certificate showing that you are a member in good standing of the bar.
- The official certificate must be dated within three months of the date that the application package is submitted.
- The certificate is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Chief Counsel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Sworn Statement/Declaration:
- A sworn statement or declaration from you that your fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction to the best of your knowledge, or if either has been challenged, a sworn (notarized) statement concerning the facts and circumstances, together with any explanation that you deem appropriate may be submitted.
- As an alternative to a sworn (notarized) statement, a statement which includes a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date)...(your signature)." (28 U.S.C. 1746).
- The statement must be dated within three months of the date that the application package is submitted.
- The statement is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active duty Army Judge Advocates).

Writing Examples:
- Examples of writing skills as demonstrated by legal briefs, memoranda, or letters.
- These examples should total no more than ten (10) pages in length.
- Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable.

Reference Letters:
- Must attached three (3) Letters of Reference from current members of the Bar, or provide current contact information for three references, including phone, email, and address.

Required Documents for current US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Attorneys:
1. Resume
2. Most recent annual performance appraisal
3. Your most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50)
4. Completed Occupational Questionnaire.

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 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 above.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/08/2024 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/12576160).
  • 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.
  • 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. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will 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://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/.

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Address
RE-W2SM03 US ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT-NASHVILLE
DO NOT MAIL
Nashville, TN 37203
US
Learn more about this agency

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 (as applicable) 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.


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