Supervisory Attorney Advisor (Investigative) Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. EX-25-025-SP Department U.S. International Trade Commission
Salary $167,603.00 to $195,200.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/14/2025 Close Date 1/24/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is located in the Office of Unfair Import Investigations (OUII). The incumbent of this position serves as a Supervisory Attorney (Investigative) and provides day-to-day supervision of investigative attorneys and support staff in all investigations and ancillary proceedings under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1337, and Section 603 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2482.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

All Eligible Candidates who are Current Federal Employees

Duties

The ideal candidate for this position would possess experience in litigating substantive areas of intellectual property and/or unfair competition law, experience or education related to the mission and functions of the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, such as a background in engineering or another scientific field, and a record of superior achievement in education. As a supervisory attorney in the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, the candidate will be responsible for supervising, assisting, and advising on interesting, challenging and complex litigation cases primarily involving patent infringement and other unfair acts in import trade.

As a Supervisory Attorney (Investigative), the candidate will provide expertise in proceedings pertaining to intellectual property rights (particularly patents) and unfair methods of competition under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended; represent the public in Section 337 investigations and ancillary proceedings, including supervising attorneys appearing before administrative law judges in the hearings of such cases; supervising investigations of alleged violations of Section 337 by evaluating the legal and factual bases for allegations made in investigations, advising and assisting participation in discovery, including depositions and pre-trial proceedings involving expert witnesses, and assisting and advising in motions practice and briefing before an administrative law judge and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Major Duties:

  • Provides expertise in litigation and supervises proceedings conducted under section 337 pertaining to intellectual property rights (mainly patents) or other unfair methods of competition.
  • Supervises and advises general attorneys (investigate) in defining and defending the interests and legal positions as an independent party against the other parties before the Administrative Law Judges and the Commission, including preparing positions on the issues as they arise during cases, planning and implementing a discovery strategy, preparing for depositions and for preliminary and trial hearings, and preparing for oral arguments.
  • Investigates and litigates legal and factual allegations made in section 337 investigations, by participating in discovery, including depositions and pre-trial proceedings involving expert witnesses; and participating in motions practice and briefing before administrative law judges and the United States International Trade Commission or district courts.
  • Provides expert advice and counsel, as appropriate, for activities assigned to the office relating to section 337, including rulemaking, assisting the Trade Remedy Assistance Office in providing information to small businesses and members of the public, and provide information to federal agencies and the public regarding the Commission's mission for the purpose of imparting relevant information about Commission programs.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
  • You will be required to successfully complete a background investigation.
  • You are required to serve a one-year supervisory probation period.
  • You must provide proof of your Bar membership.
  • You are required to register for Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/03/1959.
  • You may be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement.
  • You may be required to serve a two-year probationary period.
  • You must provide a Certificate of Good Standing of the bars to which you are admitted, if you are made an offer.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must have the general and specialized experience outlined below which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

To be hired as an Attorney with USITC, you must:
  • possess at least a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND
  • currently be a member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, applicants must meet the specialized experience below.

For the GS-15, you must have at least five (5) years of experience which consists of the following: one (1) year of specialized experience which demonstrates the engagement of general law practices; or experience in knowledge of legal theories, or principles, methodologies, and practices of the application of legal skills in a field closely related to the duties to be filled AND four (4) years of specific experience defined as specialized professional legal experience which enables the candidate to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work relevant to the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission.

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.

Education

All applicants must possess a first professional law degree: J.D. or LL.B from an American Bar Association Law School, or equivalent training. Equivalent training is training permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at a law school. To be acceptable, this training must be of the kind and nature required by the state in which the bar exam is taken. A copy of your transcript(s) is required to show proof that you meet this requirement. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for more specific information.

Submit a copy of your transcript(s) or list of courses with credit hours, major(s) and grade-point average or class ranking. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials: http://www.naces.org/members.htm.

Additional information

Surplus or Displaced Federal Employees: The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Programs are available to federal employees that qualify. Those eligible for these programs are granted special priority selection rights. To be considered, you must be deemed well-qualified by receiving a score of 85 or higher. If you are a federal employee claiming CTAP/ICTAP, you must provide the documents listed under the Required Documents section to verify your eligibility. Also, you must indicate in your application that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible. For additional information regarding CTAP/ICTAP, please visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Excepted service appointments: This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer rights to permanent Civil Service status.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you are registered with the Selective Service or are exempt under Selective Service regulations. For additional information concerning Selective Service requirements, please visit http://www.sss.gov/.

Cover page to fax paper application - OPM Form 1203fx: http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/opm1203fx.pdf

Assessment Questions: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12662080

Vacancy ID number: 12662080

Reasonable accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the contact listed on the vacancy announcement. The decision to grant a reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis.

Verification of information: Any information claimed on your resume and in application materials, such as education, credentials, employment history, etc., will be verified as part of the security clearance process.

Time period to meet qualifications: All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. SECTION 337 KNOWLEDGE
  2. LEGAL WRITING
  3. ORAL COMMUNICATION
  4. MANAGING PEOPLE
  5. LEGAL ANALYSIS AND LITIGATION
We will evaluate your relevant education and/or work experience as they relate to the competencies, knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) mentioned above. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Based on the results of this evaluation, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

Best: Placement in this category indicates you have the type and quality of experience and/or education that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position, including any selective placement factors and/or appropriate quality ranking factor(s).

Better: Placement in this category indicates you have the type and quality of experience and/or education that exceed the minimum qualifications of the position.

Good: Placement in this category, it indicates you meet the minimum qualifications and/or education of the position and are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the position. You may require extensive training and/or orientation in order to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position.

Candidates in the Best category will be the first ones sent to the hiring manager for interview consideration.

Your resume, and supporting documentation for education, should contain sufficient information for us to make a valid determination that you fully meet the qualification requirements for this vacancy. We do not make inferences and can only consider the information you provide to us. Insufficient resumes and application packages will result in loss of consideration.

Your experience and education is also evaluated using an assessment questionnaire, which is available at the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12662080

Required Documents

1. Resume: Your resume may be in any written format you choose, and to be sufficient, should contain the required information as specified in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. Insufficient resumes, or resumes that contain inappropriate information, such as privacy information or photographs, will result in an ineligible rating.

2. Occupational questionnaire: A completed job-specific occupational questionnaire should be submitted through your Application Manager account.

3. Proof of Bar Membership: Documentation must show that you are a member of the Bar of a state, territory or commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. If you are made an offer, you must submit a Certificate of Good Standing dated within 30 days of the offer.

4. Transcripts: You must submit a copy of your transcript(s), as specified under the Education section of this announcement. Unofficial transcripts are sufficient for application purposes, provided they show your classes, grades, dates of attendance and award of any degree. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

5. SF-50: Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50.

6. Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney positions, which are in the excepted service; however, the Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring of all positions. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include such information in their cover letter, or resume, and submit supporting documents (e.g. DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) as part of their application package. Although the point preference system is not used as in the competitive service, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form 15 (SF-15), and documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed, as listed on the SF-15. Specific information is available on the Office of Personnel Management website at: http://www.opm.gov.

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 occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/24/2025 to receive consideration.

1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.

3. To verify that your application is complete, 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 Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

4. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

The Vacancy ID is 12662080.

Agency contact information

Steve Parker
Address
Office of Unfair Import Investigations
500 E St SW
Washington, DC 20436
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made, you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted.

To check the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, select Application Status, and click on the More Information link under the application status for this position.

You will be notified up to four times during the hiring process:

  1. Upon receipt of your application
  2. Upon minimum qualifications determination
  3. After candidates have been referred to the hiring official
  4. Once a selection has been made


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


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