Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

• Responsible for the preparation or review of extremely complex legal issues, instruments, assemblies, or the p reparation of legal opinions on complex questions relating to state and federal laws and regulations.
• May have responsibility for acting as an official legal representative of the office to which assigned in contacts with municipal, state, and federal agencies, other federal agencies, and private stakeholders.
• Identify, research, and address extremely complex and difficult legal questions affecting USACE missions.
• Assigned cases involve extremely complex and difficult legal questions or issues involving novel questions of law and policy affecting several million dollars or more.
• Renders legal advice and assistance to all elements of the Command in response to inquiries on numerous types of miscellaneous problems arising from day-to-day operations and which vary from simple to difficult.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Incumbent is required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, (5CFR Part 2634,Subpart I USOGE, 6/08).

Qualifications

A RELOCATION INCENTIVE OF UP TO 25% OF THE BASE SALARY MAY BE OFFERED, DEPENDING ON FUNDING AVAILABILITY AND MANAGEMENT DISCRETION. AN INCENTIVE MUST BE REQUESTED BY SELECTED APPLICANT AT THE TIME OF THE TENTATIVE JOB OFFER AND APPROVED PRIOR TO HIRE. AND INCENTIVE REQUIRES A SIGNED SERVICE AGREEMENT.

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; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be 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: An applicant 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 (LL.B. or J.D.). Law school transcripts must be submitted at the time of application.

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

Experience for the GS-14 level:
An applicant must have more than three years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Time in Grade Requirement: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Your application package will be evaluated to ensure your experience, knowledge, skills, training and/or education meet the qualification requirements stated in this vacancy announcement. Quality of experience relates to how closely or to what extent an applicant's background and recency of experience and education clearly reflect that you possess the following required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of this position. The following KSA's must be addressed in your resume. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating or effect your overall rating.

1. Knowledge, skills and ability with respect to a broad and diverse range of USACE legal practice areas, which may include civil works, federal environmental and regulatory law, federal real estate practice, federal procurement law, torts, FOIA, ethics, federal fiscal law, and federal labor and employment law.

2. Knowledge of statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures concerning federal civil law, focusing on the Corps-related areas listed above.

3. Advocacy and trial experience before a variety of federal courts and boards, including a Federal District Court, the Court of Federal Claims, or a Federal Appeals Court, especially as lead attorney.

4. Practical experience and mature judgement in solving legal problems, providing interpretations of statutes and regulations, and reviewing client documents for legal soundness and accuracy sufficient for the accomplishment of difficult, complex, and varied work relating to complex labor, procurements, and general Corps-related legal issues.

5. Experience working with counsel from other (especially Federal) government agencies or other offices, such as the U.S. Department of Justice, a United States Attorney's Office, or opposing counsel, especially on high profile or significant dollar value cases.

6. Individuals being evaluated for a GS-14 position should demonstrate a strong ability to work well with others; significant leadership and/or teambuilding skills are desired.

7. Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

How you will be evaluated

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

NOTICE OF VETERAN'S PREFERENCE: 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/ ).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 you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. 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.

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.
• A professional writing sample of no more than 10 pages in length to demonstrate your legal writing and written communication skills.

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
• This position requires a job-related license or certification. You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses

3. ***ALL APPLICANTS (EXCEPT FOR CURRENT USACE ATTORNEYS) MUST SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS***- Official law school transcripts. Photo copies are acceptable when applying.- Official statement of relative class standing or a statement that applicant's law school doesn't provide rankings. Photo copies are acceptable when applying.- Official certificate showing that the applicant is a member in good standing of the bar dated within three months of date the application is submitted.- A sworn and notarized statement by the candidate that his or her fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction; or, if either has been challenged, a sworn and notarized statement giving the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation that the applicant considers appropriate. As an alternative to a sworn and notarized statement, 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) (signature of applicant)." (28 U.S.C. 1746) The official certificate and statement of fitness must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted. The certificate and statement are required to be submitted by all applicants, including attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of the Judge Advocate General of the Army.

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.

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