An official website of the United States government Central Office, Office of General Counsel, Commercial Law Branch, Washington, DC Attorney Central Office, Office of General Counsel, Commercial Law Branch, 320 First Street, NW Washington , DC 20534 United States About the Office: The primary mission of the Commercial Law Branch (CLB) is to provide legal advice and assistance to officials of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) with regard to a variety of Government procurement law, appropriation law, intellectual property law, and general commercial law issues. Our office places a high value on diversity of experiences and perspectives and encourages applications from all qualified individuals from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, veterans, LGBT individuals, and persons with disabilities. Job Description: Incumbent will provide legal guidance and review of procurements, provide legal assistance to contracting staff, and prepare agency responses to litigation. Incumbent will represent the Bureau of Prisons in the litigation of contract appeals before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and in the litigation of protests of contract awards before the Government Accountability Office, and assist in litigation at the US Court of Federal Claims, the US District Courts, and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The incumbent will have the opportunity to work with Central Office, regional, and institution management staff with respect to commercial law matters. Due to COVID-19, if selected, you may be expected to telework for an undefined period under the Department's evacuation authority, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Employees in this status may be notified of a requirement to report in person to the component workplace with an advance notice of not less than 30 days. Prior to a requirement to report to the workplace, employees may be eligible to request to continue to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the component's telework policy. Qualifications: Required qualifications: Applicants must have a JD degree, be an active member of the bar (any US jurisdiction), and have at least one (1) year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience. Preferred qualifications: Prior experience in Government procurement law, appropriations law, intellectual property law, and in litigation related thereto and in a correctional setting is highly desired. The salary range, including locality pay adjustments, is GS-12 ($89,834 to $116,788), GS-13 ($106,823 to $138.868); GS-14 ($126,233 to $164,102); or GS-15 ($148,484 to $176,300). Travel: Some travel may be required. Application Process: Applicants must submit a cover letter highlighting relevant experience, resume, writing sample, and list of legal references by February 24, 2022, to: US Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons Office of General Counsel Commercial Law Branch 320 First Street, NW, Room 900 Attention: William Robinson, Associate General Counsel No telephone calls please. This position is open until filled, but no later than February 22, 2022. Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances. Application Deadline: Thursday, February 24, 2022 Relocation Expenses: Number of Positions: Two Updated February 10, 2022 * * * COVID-19 Vaccination : Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine. Equal Employment Opportunity : The US Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement . Reasonable Accommodations : This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities : The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 CFR | 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department's Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs . Suitability and Citizenship : 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. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/ ). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only US citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, US Trustee's Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the US and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis. Veterans : There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (eg, the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). * * * This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships . The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. 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