Duties
This position is Trial Attorney, located in the Camp Lejeune Unit, Environmental Torts Litigation Section, Torts Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice.
Environmental Torts Litigation (ETL) handles the defense of complex, high-stakes, high-visibility environmental and toxic tort cases brought against the United States, including multi-billion-dollar sensitive cases of substantial public and Congressional interest. Cases defended by ETL commonly involve hundreds, if not thousands, of individual plaintiffs, expansive facts, expert discovery, and novel issues of law. The facts at issue in toxic tort cases can span decades. The duration of the cases, from inception to resolution, is often measured in years. Continuity of counsel competent to deal with the medical, scientific, and legal issues, is required to manage such massive and complex cases.
Trial Attorney responsibility primarily involves defending the United States in complex, high stakes civil litigation in federal courts nationwide. Its attorneys directly handle all aspects of wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage cases that often involve hundreds, even thousands, of plaintiffs. The cases typically stem from alleged exposure to environmental contaminants, such as biological agents, chemicals, and other substances; defending fact and expert depositions; working with expert witnesses; draft and argue motions; assist with trials and work on settlement matters; preparing for and conducting hearings, settlement negotiations, and trials of complex cases; preparing memorandums such as pleadings, motions, briefs, and other documents on the basis of factual and legal research; participating in pretrial and pre-hearing conferences; conducting trials or presents oral arguments in federal courts, state courts, and administrative proceedings, as appropriate.
Camp Lejeune Unit Litigation involves responding to inquiries from the White House, Congress, federal departments and agencies, state and local authorities, and private individuals on matters within the scope of assigned statutory responsibilities. Making recommendations with respect to proposed changes in legislation relating to provisions of law. Provides advice concerning legal and policy questions related to statutes administered by the office.
This is not a remote location position. You will be required to work in person five days a week.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
- Must complete a Background Investigation to include drug testing
- Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable
- May require completion of a 2-year trial period. (Please refer to the trial period statement under Qualifications.)
- Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access depending on organizational assignment / duty location.
- It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment.
- Financial Disclosure: If selected, you will be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
Qualifications
Minimum experience: Applicants must have a J.D. degree (or equivalent), be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) and have at least one-year post-JD. (or equivalent) legal/trial or other relevant experience commiserate with the grade you are applying to. You must be a US Citizen
Possessing the minimum post law degree legal experience does not guarantee the applicant will be selected at that grade level.
· GS-13 - minimum 1.5 years post-JD legal experience
· GS-14 - minimum 2.5 years post-JD legal experience
· GS-15 - minimum 4 years post-JD legal experience
Qualifications must be met by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
Examples of the experience described above include: independently performing legal analysis; composing pleadings, briefs and other court documents involving unique and/or difficult legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; conducting highly complex civil or criminal litigation; and leading paralegals and support staff
Preferred qualifications: Applicants should have excellent writing, negotiation, and interpersonal skills; exhibit good judgment, and have experience in trial work. Judicial clerkship experience is desirable.
Trial Period Statement
As a condition of employment for accepting this position in accordance with section 11.5 of Executive Order 14284, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your 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.
Education
All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov.
OR
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above 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 timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications
All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.
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 to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/03/2025 to receive consideration.
1. Click "Apply Online" to get started.
2. If you're not logged in to your USAJOBS account, you will need to login. If you don't have an account, please create one.
3. You will be prompted to select one of your stored (or uploaded) resumes, and any supporting documents you have uploaded to USAJOBS. If you have not uploaded these documents, you can do so later before submitting your application.
4. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, you will be asked to submit your demographic information (if you have provided this in your profile). Submission is optional and anonymous.
5. You'll be asked to confirm your choices and certify the accuracy of your information before you're able to continue to the Application Manager system. Until you see the blue border and DOJ logo, you are still on USAJOBS. You'll see a folder animation just before you leave USAJOBS.
6. Once you reach DOJ's Application Manager system, you'll be asked to verify the information you transmitted from USAJOBS. You will then respond to the application assessment questionnaires and indicate your eligibility options.
7. After responding to the questionnaires, you will have the opportunity to attach the documents you brought over from USAJOBS *OR* upload documents directly from your computer or device.
8. If you opt to upload a document directly, click the "Upload" button and select the document on your device, then wait for the upload to finish. Repeat as needed. Documents must be less than 3 MB each and should be in a compatible file format.
9. Once all your documents are uploaded, you must assign the uploads to the appropriate document category. You may attach more than one document to each category. Click the drop-down menu for a document category, and select one of the available options in the menu. The document will be listed under this category. You can click the drop-down again to add other documents, as needed. You can have up to 15 document assignments.
10. Once you've uploaded and assigned all your documents to an appropriate document type, you can proceed to the final verification step, and click Submit.
11. If you have correctly submitted your application, you will receive an automated e-mail notification within 30-60 minutes. Be sure to review the announcement fully to make sure that your application contains everything that is required.
If you need help with the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help Site (for everything on the USAJOBS-side), or the Application Manager Help Site (for everything on the DOJ-side).
Regrettably, the Department of Justice cannot assist you with USAJOBS account issues. If you contact us for assistance and the problem is related to your USAJOBS account, we will have to direct you to USAJOBS to remedy the issue.
Next steps
Once the application package is received you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. All qualified applications will be sent to the hiring official for review. You will be contacted directly if an interview is desired.