Summary
At Federal Student Aid (FSA), we are proud sponsors of the American mind. As a principal office of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), FSA provides students and families financial assistance for higher education, and we promote the value of postsecondary education to society. We ensure that all eligible students and families can benefit from federal financial aid for education or training beyond high school.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
This announcement is open to all U.S. citizens. Attorney positions are in the excepted service and are excepted from the competitive service. Appointments will be not-to-exceed two (2) years; with the option to be extended up to a total of four (4) years. Appointments may be made permanent without further advertising.
Duties
We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application. Multiple positions are located in the Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, and Borrower Defense Group within the Enforcement Directorate.
The Borrower Defense Group considers and issues recommendations or decisions on claims by borrowers who assert a defense to repayment of Federal student loans based on an act or omission of an Institution of Higher Education that gives rise to a cause of action under State law or Federal regulations, as applicable.
As a General Attorney, GS-0905-11, with significant oversight you will be responsible for:
- Preparing preliminary memoranda/reports outlining facts and legal issues, analyzing the factual and legal issues involved, explaining the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justifying recommendations or conclusions.
- Conducting research in connection with legal questions, such as questions concerning the interpretation and application of statutes, rules, and regulations as they pertain to Enforcement matters.
- Reviewing and synthesizing evidence to support legal theories.
- Investigating and/or adjudicating borrower defense claims involving varied factual and legal issues.
As a General Attorney, GS-0905-12, you will be responsible for:
- Preparing preliminary memoranda/reports outlining facts and legal issues, analyzing the factual and legal issues involved, explaining the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justifying recommendations or conclusions.
- Conducting research of statutes, regulations, Education (ED) and Federal Student Aid (FSA) policies and legal opinions bearing on the legal issues involved in the development and implementation of investigation activities and borrower defense decisions.
- Gathering, reviewing and analyzing evidence to support case development.
- Investigating and/or adjudicating borrower defense claims involving varied factual and legal issues.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a US Citizen.
- May be required to successfully complete a two-year trial period.
- Relocation will not be paid.
- Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
- Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
- Law degree.
- Maintain active bar membership while employed in an attorney position.
- The position is eligible for telework.
- This position requires financial disclosure.
This is an Excepted Service position.
Qualifications
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
Minimum Qualifications Requirements for the GS-11:
You must:
- Be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
AND
- Have proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.
AND
- Have one-year professional legal experience at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, OR
- Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study; OR
- Have a record showing superior law schoolwork or activities as demonstrated by one of the following:
- Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class.
- Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school’s official law review.
- Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif.
- Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools.
- Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation).
- Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school.
- Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.
Qualifying Experience for the GS-11:
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-09 level performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
- Training and/or experience in legal analysis and writing.
- Training and/or experience in conducting legal research.
- Training and/or experience in reviewing and analyzing evidence.
Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-12:
You must:
- Be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
AND
- Have proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.
AND
- Have two years of professional legal experience, at least one of the two years must be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled. OR
- Have one year of professional legal experience at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS a second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study OR
- Have one year of professional legal experience at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS record showing superior law schoolwork, or activities as demonstrated by one of the following:
- Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class.
- Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school’s official law review.
- Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif.
- Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools.
- Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation).
- Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school.
- Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.
Qualyfing Experience for GS-12:
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 level performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
- Experience in legal analysis and writing.
- Experience in conducting legal research.
- Experience reviewing and analyzing evidence.
Preferred Qualification (All grade levels): Experience relating to Title IV programs of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, Borrower Defense regulations, other loan discharge regulations, and/or consumer protection statutes highly desirable, as well as journal and/or clerkship experience.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by the information provided in your application.
- Skill in legal analysis and legal writing.
- Legal research skills.
- Skill in analysis of evidence.
- Skill in applying the law to specific facts, cases, or claims.
Education
This position has a positive education requirement. See Qualifications above.
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.
FSA is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, federal holidays, health and life insurance, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). As an FSA employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you, may include teleworking and alternative work schedules.
For more information about the many benefits available to Federal employees, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/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.
We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer all qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the competencies associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.
THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT WITH ESTABLISHED CUTOFF DATES. APPLICATIONS WILL BE REFERRED BASED ON RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND ESTABLISHED CUTOFF DATES AS FOLLOWS:
1ST CUTOFF: July 15, 2024
2ND CUTOFF: July 25, 2024
3RD CUTOFF: August 15, 2024 You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):
- A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire
- Transcripts showing course titles, number of credits, and dates of completion. A copy of your degree is not sufficient. You may submit unofficial transcripts as part of your application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to appointment.
- Bar card (at time of offer)
If you are claiming Veterans’ Preference you must submit:
- A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
- A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
- The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
- Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces). Veteran's Preference: Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.
We strongly recommend you submit a Cover Letter highlighting your relevant skills and experience, describing your interest in enforcement issues generally and pertaining to higher education such as borrower defense or federal student loans specifically (if applicable), and explaining how your professional experiences relate to the qualifications listed above.
Writing samples may be requested of the candidates who are selected for interviews. Candidates may be asked to provide a representative legal memo that demonstrates writing style and analytical ability. The sample should be written entirely by candidate, light editing by others if any, and will be considered as part of overall candidate assessment.
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
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: Upload a resume. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position.
Step 3: Upload any required documents (e.g. certifications) into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the brief assessment questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
Next steps
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
- Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
- After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
- Finally, we will inform you if and when a selection is made.
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