Senior Staff Counsel Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. COA-2025-0006 Department District of Columbia Courts
Salary $163,964.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/29/2025 Close Date 2/12/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is located in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Central Legal Staff Division, which is comprised of a nine-member legal staff. The incumbent in this role leads the Central Legal Staff Division and has the overall responsibility for the operations of the division. In addition, the incumbent support and serves on various committees that impact Court practices. In the absence of the Clerk of the Court and Chief Deputy Clerk, serves in the acting role.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

United States Citizens or individuals lawfully admitted for permanent residency or authorized by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to work in the United States.

Duties

Brief Description of Duties

  • Serves as a member of the Court of Appeals and D.C. Courts senior leadership team by contributing to Court and enterprise-wide initiatives.
  • Directs and supervises staff attorneys and non-legal Case Managers to ensure prompt and appropriate disposition of matters assigned to the motion panel of judges.
  • Reviews new matters presented to the unit and assigns the work to the staff attorneys based on the complexity, time sensitivity, and workload balance.
  • Prepares and maintains monthly status reports on the productivity of the Central Legal Staff to inform policy making and to support decision making.
  • Oversees the handling of short-turnaround emergency matters to include the coordination of all information and responses.  Review all matters filed as an emergency and determines the proper handling, assigns the emergency to staff attorneys and ensures the  appropriate and timely resolution and dockets orders as needed.
  • Oversee the Bar Disciplinary and Admissions cases to include supervision of a dedicated non-legal case manager, reviews initial orders entered when the case is filed, monitors the cases for next action(s), assigns cases to staff attorneys, reviews vote sheets prior to submission to the Court, and reviews interim and final orders and opinions before publication.
  • Responds to inquiries from the Chief, Associate, and Senior Judges, D.C. Bar, Superior Court Clerks, litigants, and Court employees on Court procedures and related matters.
  • Oversees the internal compilation of developments in District Law and precedent to facilitate consistent Court decisions.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • A background and/or security investigation is required.
  • This position is Excepted Service appointment.

To qualify for this position, the following must be submitted:

  1. Resume
  2. Completed Vacancy Questionnaire
  3. Documentation /Proof of Education (e.g. copy of law school transcript or degree)
  4. Proof of D.C. Bar membership in good standing or eligibility to waive into the D.C. Bar.
  5. List of three (3) professional references


All required documentation must be received by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Graduation from an accredited university with a Law degree plus a minimum four (4) years of supervisory and leadership experience in a court, legal, justice, or government environment. Must be an active member in good standing with the District of Columbia Bar or must become a member within six (6) months of appointment.

Must possess an active D.C. Bar membership in good standing, or be eligible to waive into the D.C. Bar. Documentation of education and Bar membership or eligibility must be included with the application. Applications will not be considered complete unless proof is attached. If not a member of the D.C. Bar, waiver into the D.C. Bar within six months after an offer of employment is a condition of employment.  

The incumbent should be an enthusiastic and engaged professional who enjoys working with a diverse group of Court personnel and customers and lives the DC Courts’ values of Accountability, Excellence, Fairness, Integrity, Respect, and Transparency.

Please note that authorization for the release of your adult criminal record revealing any convictions and forfeitures, and any criminal cases currently pending before the courts are required.  If you are selected for the position, a criminal history records check will be conducted.  

Education

To qualify based on education, upload a copy of your college transcript or degree. The transcript must show the name of the college or university, your name, list of courses with credit hours, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking.

Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for District of Columbia Courts employment.  You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.  

Foreign Education: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must upload a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript at time of application to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Additional information

This job is being filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive Federal civil service.

Please note there is a mandatory one year probationary period for all new court employees.

All required information must be received by the vacancy announcement closing date.

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.

This is not a federal position.

The District of Columbia Courts is an independent agency of the District of Columbia Government and is not under the authority of the City Mayor or the D. C. Council. DC Courts' appropriation comes directly from Congress. All DC Courts non-judicial employees receive federal benefits for the following programs:  Life Insurance, Retirement Benefits, Health Insurance and Workers Compensation.

Please click on the following for more information about these benefits:

http://www.opm.gov/Insure/health/enrollment/new_employees.asp

The DC Courts leave policy is as follows:

Annual Leave:  New full-time employees earn four (4) hours of annual leave biweekly. After three years of service this increases to six (6)hours biweekly, and at 15 years it increases to eight(8)hours biweekly. Most military, federal and District of Columbia government service counts toward the time required to go into the next higher annual leave category. Employees can carry over no more than 240 hours of annual leave into the next leave year.

Sick Leave is used for personal medical needs, care of a family member, or adoption related purposes. Full-time employees earn four(4)hours of sick leave biweekly. This leave can be accrued without limit.

In addition to the federal health plans, the DC Courts offer employees supplemental vision and dental plans as well as commuter transit benefit subsidy, for a maximum of $150 a month. There are 26 pay periods in the year.

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.

Upon receipt of your complete application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure that you meet the minimum qualification requirements.  Answers submitted in the questionnaire must be supported on your resume.

Your resume must reflect the relevant experience and that you meet the minimum qualifications or your application will not be considered.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

1. Resume
2. Completed Vacancy Questionnaire
3. Documentation /Proof of Education (e.g. copy of law school transcript or degree)
4. Proof of D.C. Bar membership in good standing or eligibility to waive into the D.C. Bar.
5. List of three (3) professional references.



 
All required documentation must be received by the closing date of the announcement.

 

 

 

 

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

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.  Follow the prompts to complete the vacancy questionnaire. Afterward, click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.

Agency contact information

G. Brandon
Address
District of Columbia Courts
Historic Court House
430 E Street, NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20001
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once your completed application is received, the qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. All applicants will be notified of the final outcome.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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