Law Clerk

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: Applicants who meet the qualification requirements in paragraph c will be hired as a Law Clerk Trainee for 14 months and must be admitted to the Bar with this 14-month time frame after appointment with the FLRA or he/she will be separated for failure to meet a condition of employment. Upon passing the Bar, the Law Clerk Trainee may receive a new appointment to the Attorney-Advisor (Labor) position without time limits.

The incumbent is responsible for performing all functions related to the disposition of cases before the Authority, with moderate supervision when a complex issue is involved, and limited supervision when a less-complex issue is involved. For example, the incumbent:

• Reviews hearing records, briefs, exhibits, and related case documents; analyzes arguments and applicability of precedent cited by the parties and analyzes issues and facts presented in cases;
• Performs legal research; applies legal precedent to the issues presented; exercises judgment based on research and understanding of the provisions and intent of the Statute, applicable policy, precedent, government-wide regulations, and other similar material;
• Discusses approaches to cases with supervisors and managers in connection with application of particular precedential decisions of the Authority to the subject case with particular concern for establishing an orderly and consistent body of precedent;
• Processes cases and prepares decisions, as directed by the Member, Chief Counsel, and/or Deputy Chief Counsel;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a citizen of the United States.
• Must be able to pass and maintain a background investigation.
• New Law Clerks to the Federal government will be required to serve a trial period of 2 years.
• Must possess the 1st professional law degree from an accredited law school.
• Must complete Bar Exam within 14 months of employment.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications-GS-0904-11 Law Clerk

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet both of the following requirements:

1. Education

Possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from an accredited law school; and

1. Superior Law School Achievement

Demonstrate superior law school performance or achievement through at least one of the following:

a. Graduation in the upper one-third of the law school class;

b. Significant work or achievement on the law school's official law review or another recognized legal journal;

c. Receipt of high-level honors for academic excellence, such as election to the Order of the Coif;

d. Winning a moot court competition or serving on a moot court team that represented the law school in competition against other law schools;

e. Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program, rather than one-time, intermittent, or casual participation;

f. Significant summer law clerk experience in labor relations or a related legal field; or

g. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior legal, academic, or professional achievement.

Bar Membership and Appointment Limitation

Admission to the bar is not required at the time of appointment. This position is intended for a law school graduate who is awaiting admission to the bar. If appointed under the Schedule A law-clerk trainee authority, the appointment may not exceed 14 months pending admission to the bar. See 5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(e).

Background Investigation - Must pass fingerprint and criminal background investigations.

Selective Service System - Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must certify registration with the Selective Service System or certify being exempt from registering with the Selective Service System.

All materials must be received by the closing date of this announcement to be considered.

How you will be evaluated

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

The information contained in your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet basic qualification requirements, and possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are essential for successful job performance. If you meet the minimum qualifications required by the position, your entire application package will be reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME). Listed below are the competencies.

1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
2. Decision Making - Makes sound, well informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
3. Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgments.
4. Self-Management - Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with some supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.
5. Writing - Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a brief, clear, and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.

https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13047727
Qualifications for Law Clerk (Labor), GS-0904-11:

1. Applicant must possess the first professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school and must complete Bar Exam within 14 months of employment.
2. Have completed a year of acceptable performance in the same or closely related work at the GS-9 level.

For entry-level hires at the Grade 11 level, superior law student work or activities as demonstrated by one of the following MAY be substituted for the one year of professional legal experience needed to qualify for the GS-11:

1. Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class;
2. Work or achievement of significance on law school's official law review;
3. Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif;
4. Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools;
5. Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program, as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation;
6. Significant law-office-clerk experience in labor relations or a related field; or
7. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

All application packages must include:

Resume: Two Page Resume - mustincludes announcement number, education and training. Work experience should include: job title, duties, employer's name, employer's telephone number, employer's address, starting and ending dates (MM/YY), hours worked per week, and indicate whether or not we may contact your current supervisor. This documentation must be submitted with your application package.

Transcript: You must submit a copy of your transcript and grade-point average or class ranking, to prove that you possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an American Bar (ABA) - accredited law school if you graduated within the past five years. If you have five years or more practicing law, your transcript is not required.

Writing Sample (Optional) A writing sample must be submitted as part of your application package. It should not exceed ten (10) double-spaced pages. This documentation must be submitted with your application package.

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