Duties
At the full performance level, major duties include:
Providing legal research and analysis.
Demonstrating knowledge of corporate, commercial, constitutional, and administrative law, as well as knowledge of statutory construction.
Preparing legal documents such as complaints, motions, briefs, and regulations, and legal memoranda/forms.
Completing assigned tasks and projects of limited scope and complexity designed to develop skills and proficiency.
Preparing legal opinions on a wide variety of subjects.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
Registration with the Selective Service.
U.S. Citizenship is required.
Employment Conditions.
Completion of Financial Disclosure may be required.
Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) required
The candidate selected will be offered a time limited appointment not to exceed 14 months which may be extended to a maximum of two years upon acquiring bar membership.
Additionally, if you are not admitted to the bar within 14 months of appointment, the appointment terminates.
Qualifications
Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Additional qualifications information can be found here.
For qualification determinations, your resume must contain the following for each work experience listed:
- Organization/Agency's Name
- Title
- Salary (series and grade, if applicable)
- Start and end dates (including the month and year)
- Number of hours you worked per week
- Relevant experience that supports your response to the specialized experience that is stated 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.
NOTE: Please indicate how you meet the specialized experience under each applicable position. Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications.
To qualify for the Honors Attorney Program, you must meet the following qualification criteria.
Please read below to determine the grade at which you would qualify based on your education and experience:
CG-11:
1.) A current law school student in the final year of law school graduating from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school between December 2025 and June 2026, or a full-time graduate student in the final year of study which began immediately following law school; and 2.) Be in at least the upper thirty-three percent (33%) of your law school class and/or have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least a 3.00 unrounded based on a scale of 4.00. NOTE: If your law school does not calculate class rank, and also does not provide traditional grades or a GPA, you should include a link to the school’s grading policy and should provide a narrative explanation of how your law school performance correlates with our requirements.
CG-12:
1.) A J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school; and 2.) A current judicial law clerk, who's judicial clerk experience began no longer than nine months after law school graduation and has been no longer than three years in length; and 3.) Be in at least the upper thirty-three percent (33%) of your law school class and/or have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 unrounded based on a scale of 4.00. Note: If your law school does not calculate class rank, and also does not provide traditional grades or a GPA, you should include a link to the school's grading policy and should provide a narrative explanation of how your law school performance correlates with our requirements.
Admission to the bar is not a prerequisite to applying and being considered for the Honors Attorney Program, but is expected during the first 14 months of FDIC employment. Recent law school graduates who join the FDIC before bar examination results are available must provide evidence of bar admission as soon as possible after admission. Those not admitted to the bar within 14 months will be separated from the FDIC.
Education
See requirements stated under QUALIFICATIONS.
Additional information
To read about your rights and responsibilities as an applicant for Federal employment, click here.
Selected candidates will be assigned to our headquarters offices in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, VA.
The Honors Attorney Program appointment is for a period not to exceed 24 months. While a permanent appointment beyond the temporary 24-month appointment cannot be guaranteed, successful completion of the Honors Attorney Program may lead to a permanent appointment in the FDIC’s Legal Division.
If at the time of successful completion of the Honors Attorney Program and permanent appointment in the FDIC’s Legal Division, an Honors Attorney is permanently assigned to a regional office duty station, relocation benefits may be available.
If selected, you may be required to serve a trial period. During the trial period, you will be evaluated for fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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.
In addition to the regular benefits offered by Federal agencies, the FDIC offers additional benefits to its employees. These benefits, some at minimal cost, are some of the best and most competitive in both the private and public sectors.
To find out more, click here.
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.
Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed to ensure you meet the minimum qualifications/eligibility requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications/eligibility, your experience, education, and training will be rated using job-related experiences based on the competencies needed to perform the duties of the position. Occupational Experts (OEs) will review your resume to determine if you possess the technical qualifications for this position based on your experience. OEs will review ONLY the first two (2) pages of your resume. OEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume).
Qualified candidates will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. These category assignments are a measure of the degree in which your background and responses to the assessment questions match the competencies listed below. Candidates that are preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles in the quality category into which they are placed. Compensable service-connected preference eligibles of 10 percent or more are placed in the highest quality category ahead of the non-preference eligibles.
Applicants will be assessed on the following competencies:
- Accountability
- Continual Learning
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Oral/Non-written Communication
- Written Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Business Technology
- Compliance
- Confidentiality
- Legal Analysis
- Legal Practices
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
Failure to provide all of the required documentation as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible determination or may affect your consideration status. Please review the following to determine your eligibility and which document(s) is required to complete your application:
VETERANS’ PREFERENCE: If you are claiming veterans’ preference, click here. (Note: Veterans must submit the Member 4 copy of the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty – or other copy showing the type of discharge/character of service [e.g., Honorable, Under Honorable Conditions, etc.] along with any other required documents (e.g., DD-214, VA Letter, SF-15, etc.) to demonstrate veterans’ preference eligibility.)
EDUCATION DOCUMENTS: This position has a positive education requirement. Education must be from accredited institutions. For a listing of accredited educational institutions, click here. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. If you attended more than one university and need to send multiple transcripts, please upload/fax all transcripts as one document.
Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that 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. For more information, click here.
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.