Summary
There is a vacancy for an intellectual property (IP) attorney to serve as Assistant Counsel within the Office of Counsel, Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).
This position will be located in Washington, DC. Specifically, Southwest Washington, DC bordering the Potomac River, Joint Base Anacostia Bolling (JBAB), and Interstate 295.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
All U.S. Citizens
Duties
- You will provide legal advice and guidance on a wide range of patent intellectual property issues, such as rights in inventions, patents, trade secrets, technical data rights, and computer software.
- You will prepare and prosecute patent applications.
- You will review research publications for potentially patentable and/or trade secret material.
- You will review and negotiate IP clauses in agreements and contracts.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a US Citizen.
- Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
- Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
- New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
- Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
- You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
- You will be required to complete ethics orientation within three months of appointment and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, within 30 days of appointment.
- This is a Mission Essential position. You will be required to ensure organization or facility continuity of operations and/or completion of tasks that are considered essential to the mission designated by a local or command decision.
Qualifications
The NRL Office of Counsel is a field office within the ONR Office of Counsel and part of the Department of the Navy (DON) Office of the General Counsel (OGC). ONR reports to the Secretary of the Navy through the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Led by the Chief of Naval Research, its senior leadership oversees a portfolio of investments ranging from immediate, quick-turnaround technologies to long term basic research. The ONR Office of Counsel has 42 attorneys located at the Arlington, VA Headquarters and in a field office located in Washington, DC.
The NRL Office of Counsel is led by a Counsel, Deputy Counsel, and Associate Counsel for Intellectual Property, and has a staff of twenty-one attorneys and nine professional staff. The NRL Office of Counsel has a varied workload covering the full range of DON OGC practice, with emphasis on IP law, federal acquisition law, technology transfer, civilian personnel law (CPL), related litigation, ethics and standards of conduct, fiscal law, environmental law, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA).
The successful candidate will be expected to provide NRL clients a full range of IP legal services, including drafting and prosecuting patent applications, reviewing research publications for potentially patentable and/or trade secret material, reviewing agreements containing IP provisions, and counseling on contract and technology transfer IP matters such as rights in inventions, patents, trade secrets, technical data rights, and computer software. The successful candidate will also work with inventors to identify patentable technology and useful trademarks, develop invention disclosures, and to draft high quality patent applications. On a more limited basis, incumbents may identify trademarks for protection, provide litigation support for patent infringement claims, and resolve patent and copyright administrative claims.
NRL compensation falls under a Personnel Management Demonstration Project. The Project uses Career Levels (aka pay bands) for pay setting. This position has a full performance level in the GS-15 range of the NO-V pay band, and will be filled at the NO-IV (GS-13 equivalent) or NO-V (GS-14 or GS-15 equivalent) level depending on the qualifications of the successful applicant. To be eligible for selection at the NO-IV level (GS-13 equivalent), the applicant must have in excess of two years of recent and relevant professional legal experience. To be eligible for selection at the NO-V level (GS-14 equivalent), the applicant must have at least three-and-one-half years of recent and relevant professional legal experience. To be eligible for selection at the NO-V level (GS-15 equivalent), the applicant must have at least five-and-one-half years of recent and relevant professional legal experience.
Applicants will be evaluated on: (1) the depth, breadth, and quality of experience in IP law, with an emphasis on supporting technical areas related to NRL's research; (2) their corresponding recent and relevant experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications; (3) research, analytical, writing, and oral communication skills; (4) interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop strong attorney-client relationships; and (5) the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.
Education
The successful applicant must have graduated with a J.D. or LL.M. from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, be an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia, and be admitted to practice before a state or federal court. Applicants must also be registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.
As vacancies occur, the Human Resources Office will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this flyer. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume, along with your supporting documentation.
If selected, you may be required to provide additional supporting documentation.
If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible/not qualified.
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
All qualification requirements must be met before being considered for any vacancies.
Required Documents
A complete resume is required. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume, but it is acceptable to provide elsewhere in your application package: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.
Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy of your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.
Are you a veteran claiming veterans' preference?
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must specifically claim such eligibility in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (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 www.opm.gov.)
Not all veterans are preference eligible. For a summary of time periods, campaigns, and conditions that entitle an applicant to preference eligibility, please visit https://www.fedshirevets.gov/index.aspx, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans, and see the Veterans' Preference Advisor, operated by the Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/vets/vetpref/vetspref.htm.
Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members will be required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command during processing of any hiring action. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).
Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application. You must provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected.
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
Interested Applicants must submit resumes/application packages to:
https://navalresearchlab.app.box.com/f/de187a8a2075450da8634b8d4b0f8053
Interested attorneys may contact NRL's Associate Counsel for Intellectual Property, Mr. Kerry Broome at 202-924-6396 or Kerry.L.Broome.civ@us.navy.mil, or NRL's Counsel, Mr. James McCutcheon at 202-767-2244 or james.n.mccutcheon.civ@us.navy.mil.
Applicants should submit: (1) a cover letter explaining their interest in the position; (2) a resume that includes the applicant's employment and educational history as well as a listing of state bars that the applicant is an active member, and the applicant's registration number to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office; (3) two recent and relevant legal writing samples (no more than 20 pages each) that demonstrate analytical and/or advocacy abilities (excerpts of larger pieces may be submitted); (4) the two most recent performance appraisals with rating official narrative, if available, and if not available, an explanation why the performance appraisals cannot be provided; (5) the names and telephone numbers of at least three references who may be contacted as part of the application process; and (6) the name and telephone number of your current supervisor; though we will let applicants know before current supervisors would be contacted. The application should indicate the lowest grade level that the applicant will consider. Attorneys who have graduated from law school less than 5 years prior to the announcement closing date must provide a copy of their law school transcript(s), including class rank. Current federal employees must also provide a copy of their most recent SF-50 form. Please redact social security numbers from any submitted documents.
Facsimile applications will not be considered.
All resumes/applications must be received no later than the close date of this flyer.
It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents, are received, legible, and accurate. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant.
Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.
Next steps
If you are selected, you will be hired/brought on board using the Excepted Service Hiring Authority.
Qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews.
Our evaluation will be based on the information you provide. You should expect that we will verify performance, suitability, and security information and take that information into account in making employment offers.
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