Duties

The ideal candidate for this position would possess experience in litigating substantive areas of intellectual property and/or unfair competition law, experience 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 staff attorney in the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, the candidate will be responsible for litigating interesting, challenging and complex cases primarily involving patent infringement.

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

The employee may be required to serve a 2-year probationary period.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You will be required to successfully complete a background investigation.
• You may be required to serve a two-year probationary period.
• Males born after 12/03/59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You may be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement.
• Proof of Bar membership is required.
• 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 us, 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 requirements above, you must meet the specific and/or specialized experience below:

BASIC REQUIREMENT

To qualify at the GS-14 level, do you have at least four (4) years of experience which consists of the following: at least one (1) year of specialized experience which demonstrates the engagement of general law practices; or experience and 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 at least three (3) years of specific experience defined as specialized professional legal experience which enabled 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.

To qualify at the GS-15 level, do you 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 and 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.

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 law school 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/.

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/.

Severely disabled persons program information: http://www.opm.gov/disability/People with disabilities.asp

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

Assessment Question: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11713963

Vacancy ID number: EX-23-001-JY

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.