Supervisory Attorney Advisor Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 26-DPS-12918242 Department Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Salary $169,292.00 to $209,600.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 3/30/2026 Close Date 4/13/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Court Services Office (CSO) manages resources, programs, and services related to court administration and case management and provides support, services, and programs addressing the needs of clerks' offices. CSO's Policy Division is assigned to provide primary staff support for the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management and serves as co-lead and chief counsel to the Court Administration and Operations Advisory Council.

This job is open to

Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to current employees of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO).

Duties

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), Department of Program Services, Court Services Office (CSO) seeks a dynamic and experienced Supervisory Attorney Advisor to serve as the Chief of the Court Policy Division. This position reports to the CSO Chief.

The Court Policy Division Chief serves as co-lead and chief counsel, providing legal, policy, and staff support to the AO, to the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM), and to the Court Administration and Operations Advisory Council (CAOAC), and supervises attorney advisors who provide these services.

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

  1. Providing staff support to CACM and its subcommittees, including conducting in-depth research and writing agenda items for consideration by CACM and the Judicial Conference.
  2. Preparing and making oral presentations on issues within CACM's purview at committee and subcommittee meetings.
  3. Providing staff support to CACM members involved in the oversight of the Case Management Modernization (CMM) program, including serving as a liaison between the CACM and other committees and subcommittees.
  4. Providing oversight and policy guidance on various Judicial Conference approved and congressionally-mandated pilot programs, serving as the primary liaison between CSO staff, the Budget Committee staff, and CACM for review and approval of annual budget proposals for the judiciary's libraries, electronic public access, bankruptcy noticing, and records programs.
  5. Assisting CACM's case management statistics subcommittee in reviewing general case management issues, and working with Judicial Resources Committee staff and Intercircuit Assignment Committee staff.
  6. Developing proposals for new miscellaneous fees, miscellaneous fee schedule adjustments, and the electronic public access fee schedule.
  7. Collaborating with CSO and other AO staff to develop policy recommendations and guidance in programmatic areas within CACM's jurisdiction, such as bankruptcy noticing, court reporting, court interpreting, jury, and libraries and legal research resources.
  8. Researching issues and preparing testimony for Congressional hearings.
  9. Preparing and presenting to court advisory groups and councils, and court executives.
  10. Researching and analyzing policy and legal questions arising from CSO staff, court executives, judges, and the public.
  11. Providing legal and policy research, drafting responses to congressional, judicial, and general correspondence and preparing studies and written reports for the AO.
  12. Collaborating with AO staff to evaluate and interpret case management statistics and effectively present this data to CACM and its subcommittees.
  13. Assisting in organizing and supporting CACM and its subcommittee meetings, and Court Administration and Operations Advisory Council meetings.
  14. Developing and analyzing pending legislation related to policies, practices, and procedures involving court administration and case management issues.
  15. Serving as a leader for CSO's Court Policy Division, supervising attorney advisors.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

  1. All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
  2. Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the AO. If non-citizens are considered for hire into a temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO Human Resources Office there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at USAJOBS Help Center | Employment of non-citizens/. For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
  3. All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.
  4. New employees to the AO will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights/responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  5. All new AO employees are required to identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.
  6. You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.
  7. If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least four years of post J.D. experience.

Specialized Experience: Subsequent to graduation from law school, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is at least one year of experience in the following areas:

  • Supervising attorneys and staff in the areas of judicial administration and policy making;
  • Providing expert legal and operational advice to federal and/or state court judges, court executives, and/or court staff; and
  • Researching legal and policy issues, conducting or overseeing studies, writing reports, and analyzing and proposing policy initiatives.

Education

Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/.

Additional information

The AO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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.

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 resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Required Documents

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required:

  • Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications (limit two pages).
  • Bar membership - Documentation that demonstrates current active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction.
  • Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

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 apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 04/13/2026 to receive consideration.
To begin, click:

  • Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
  • You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
  • You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.
  • To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12918242

Agency contact information

Heather Tyndall-Best
Email
heather_best@ao.uscourts.gov
Address
Department of Program Services
One Columbus Circle, NE
Washington, DC 20544
US

Next steps

After a review of your complete application is made, you will be notified of your rating and referral to the hiring official if determined qualified. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted.

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

The Administrative Office (AO) of the United States Courts supports, through excellence and innovation, the constitutional and statutory mission of the federal judiciary to provide equal justice under the law as an independent and equal branch of government.

The AO, an agency of the judicial branch of the federal government, is committed to serving and supporting the federal court system of the United States. The AO provides a broad range of legislative, legal, financial, technology, management, administrative and program support services to the Federal courts.

AO positions are classified and paid under a broad-banded system with the exception of positions in the AO Executive Service. Salary is commensurate with experience. Most AO employees are eligible for full federal and judiciary benefits.

The AO is committed to attracting the best and brightest applicants in our support of the third branch of government. We take pride in serving the judicial branch and supporting its mission to provide equal justice under law.


Agency contact information

Heather Tyndall-Best
Email
heather_best@ao.uscourts.gov
Address
Department of Program Services
One Columbus Circle, NE
Washington, DC 20544
US