• Works under the general supervision of the Command Judge Advocate (CJA) who allows the employee to plan, organize, and work cases with minimal technical supervision.
• Serve as a legal adviser to the Area Support Group (ASG) Commander and staff on all questions of law and administrative policy involving Army procedures and operations found at the ASG level.
• Provides definitive legal interpretation of laws, regulations, and Executive Orders.
• Provides substantive legal opinions on extremely complex and difficult legal questions and factual issues involved in interpretation and application of laws and regulations.
• Serves as legal advisor for appropriated funds, non-appropriated funds, and burden-sharing-funded contract-related matters.
• Conducts legal research and provides oral and written opinions on the full gamut of contract matters.
• Participates in settlement negotiations with high level corporate officials, legal counsel, and the Department of Justice.
• Serves as the Federal labor law expert and adviser on civilian personnel, labor relations, and equal employment law issues.
• Provides legal advice and consultation to the ASG staff regarding environmental program and environmental conditions.
• Prepares opinions, drafts, and negotiates agreements on legal issues involving U.S. and host nation law.
• Executes the ASG’s Ethics Program in accordance with Army’s polices, and procedures.
• Provides professional legal advice and representation to active duty and retired personnel, family members, U.S. civilian employees and other authorized personnel on an as needed basis.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance for access for the duration of employment.
• This position may require the incumbent to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) upon entry, and annually thereafter in accordance with DoD Directive 5500-7-R.
• This position requires the incumbent to maintain active bar membership, in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP) and is subject to applicant testing and random drug testing in accordance with DA guidelines.
• Incumbent is required to sign a DA Form 5019-Condition of Employment for Certain Civilian Positions Identified Critical under the Department of the Army Drug-Free Federal Workplace Program.
• Position requires incumbent to successfully pass a urinalysis screening for illegal drug use prior to appointment and periodically thereafter.
• Position has been designated as "Emergency-Essential" in support of the Army’s mobilization and wartime mission during periods of increased tension and mobilization and could be assigned to any location worldwide.
• Incumbent must sign DD Form 2365 as a condition of employment for Emergency-Essential position. See Additional Information for more information.
• Must be able to participate in applicable training and/or readiness exercises. Required to work weekend and holidays.
• This position has working conditions that require a pre-appointment physical.
• Must be able to travel using military transportation or non-commercial means of travel.
• Position has a mandatory seasonal influenza vaccination requirement and is therefore subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations.
• Incumbent will be required to sign a statement (Condition of Employment) consenting to seasonal influenza vaccinations.
• Must obtain and maintain a no-fee passport and associated visa while assigned to a Federal civilian position in an area requiring a passport and associated visa, if authorized.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

Applicants will be evaluated to determine if they meet the minimum qualification requirements and on the extent to which their application shows possession of the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the position.

KSA's:

• Skill in identifying and researching highly technical and complex legal issues.
• Skill in providing legal, technical, and policy guidance.
• Ability to effectively, professionally, and ethically manage a heavy caseload of clients with complex legal needs.

Qualification Requirements: The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

Education Requirements: Position requires the possession of the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) AND a member in good standing with the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants for initial appointment into attorney positions within the Department of Army must be graduates of law schools accredited by the American Bar Association at the time of the applicant's graduation. As indicated below, a law school transcript must be submitted with your application materials.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be a member in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As noted below, proof of such membership and good standing must be submitted with your application materials.

Experience: In addition to the requirements above, applicants for the GS-14 or equivalent Attorney positions must also possess 3 years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LLM may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience.

Time in Grade: The Qualifying Authorities (QA's) will make a determination as to the applicability of time in grade based on the requirements of the position. If you are currently employed as an attorney by the Federal government you must have completed one year at the next lower grade level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade level as the position being filled.

NOTICE OF VETERAN'S PREFERENCE: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information 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. The SF 15 will identify the supporting documentation required along with the list of the types of 10-point preference. The SF 15 is available from the OPM at https://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/sf/.

Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.

You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.

Direct Deposit of Pay is required.

If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.

When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application package (resume and supporting documents) will be evaluated for basic qualification requirements and for the skills needed to perform the duties of the position, as described in this vacancy announcement and identified by the Selecting Official.

Veteran's preference requirements do not apply to attorney positions in the excepted service, however the principles of veteran's preference will be followed to the extent which is administratively feasible.

The following documents are required:

Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume.

References:

• Must provide three (3) licensed attorney references with contact information.

The following documents are preferred at the time of application, but not required:

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have your law school transcripts, certificate of good standing, or fitness to practice statement, you should not be deterred from applying for this position. While not required at the time of application, these documents will be required for the attorney to enter on duty.

Official Law School Transcripts:

• Official law school transcript and an official statement of relative standing in class. Photo static copies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering duty.

Good Standing Certificate:

• Official certificate showing that you are a member in good standing of the bar dated at any time. However, in the event the candidate is selected for an interview and/or during the hiring process, the candidate must provide an official certificate dated within three months. The certificate is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active-duty Army Judge Advocates).

Fitness to Practice Statement:

• A sworn (notarized) statement from you that your fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction to the best of your knowledge, or if either has been challenged, a sworn (notarized) statement concerning the facts and circumstances, together with any explanation that you deem appropriate may be submitted.
• As an alternative to a sworn (notarized) statement, a statement which includes a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date)...(your signature)." (28 U.S.C. 1746)."
• The statement must be dated within three months of the date that the application package is submitted. The statement is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active-duty Army Judge Advocates).

Writing Sample:

• Examples of writing skills as demonstrated by legal briefs, memorandum, and/or letters. Regardless of the number of writing samples submitted, the page count of all writing samples combined cannot exceed 10 pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable.

Standard Form (SF) 50:

• If you are a current or former federal employee, provide a copy of your most recent non-award SF50 to the application package.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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