Duties

The primary role of the attorney-advisor is to review the evidentiary record and draft tentative decisions for review and decision by a Veterans Law Judge. Appeals relate to all benefits provided by VA but primarily are appeals seeking disability compensation.

Reviews the record and prepares tentative decisions on appeals for benefits for the review and approval of a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ or "Member of the Board"), including appeals involving formal personal hearings held before VLJs. Is assigned cases on a selective basis to progressively gain experience in the various types of appellate issues.

Conducts research on questions encountered in case review or as directed by a VLJ. Drafts legal briefs, including bench memoranda for hearings, outlining the facts at issue, and containing recommendations for appropriate action by the VLJ.

Attends formal personal hearings with VLJs for training purposes or to assist in the preparation of a tentative decision in that appeal.

Must be a member in good standing of a state Bar.

Maintains a strong commitment to meet customer needs. Analyzes problems/issues taking into consideration the customer's needs. Develops appropriate solutions and/or provides services that contribute to the customers' ability to accomplish their objectives. Also recognizes Board supervisors and employees as customers and provides services to them that contribute to the accomplishment of the Board's mission and objectives.

Works as a member of a VLJ Team or other organizational component and may serve as member of one or more ad hoc teams/components. Attends team meetings and other activities and contributes constructively to help advance the overall mission and objectives of the Board and the efficiency of its operations. Participates in appropriate training and learning activities and in new and varied assignments. Works cooperatively with other on the VLJ Team or other organizational component to ensure that individual effort is integrated into and overall product or major component thereof.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

This is a Bargaining Unit position.

This announcement has been extended and now will close on 1/12/2024. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be 11/22/2023, with a subsequent cut-off date of 12/22/2023. After this date, qualified applicant will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. Eligible applications received after the initial cut-off date will be referred as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Remote: This is a remote position
Position Description/PD#: Attorney-Advisor (Veterans)/PD19453A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Selectees may be required to serve a one-year trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Selectees must be an active member in good standing of the bar, of the state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/12/2024.

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship: Be a citizen of, or owe allegiance to, the Unites States.
Bar membership Requirements: All attorney in the GS-0905 series must be active members in good standing of the bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia and must hold a current, unrestricted license to practice law. Employees must maintain their compliance with this requirement. The duties of the position call for appearance in court. The applicant must be a member in good standing of the bar or be eligible for admission to the bar, of the state or territory of the Unites States or the District of Columbia.
Loss of Good Standing/Bar Membership: Employees must maintain good standing in a bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia while employed as an attorney with VA. Failure to maintain good standing in a bar of a state or territory of the Unites States, or the District of Columbia provides grounds for removal and possible termination from employment with the VA.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below.

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/148, Part II, Appendix F36, Qualification Standard, General Attorney, GS-0905.

The applicant's experience and training must demonstrate the applicant can successfully perform the position's duties. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Position Classification Standard for General Attorney Series, GS-0905 , provides examples of duties performed at each grade level.

Quality of Experience. For each grade, applicants must have one or a combination of the following types of Quality of Experience in the amount indicated for the Grade Determination applicable.

Practice of law includes private, state, or Federal practice in any field of law.

Other legal experience of a responsible nature is experience in any one or a combination of the following performed in a law office, government office, or in the legal department of a business establishment, in the armed forces, or other Federal service:

• Conducting legal research, analyzing statutes, writing legal opinions;
• Writing authoritative or advisory legal opinions involving interpretation of state or Federal laws, regulations, and orders, or the drafting of such regulations or orders; or
• Drafting, analyzing, and other legal activities with respect to bills, regulations, Executive Orders, proclamations, or statutory provisions.

Superior Qualification Program: Applicants may apply for the GS-11 level under this option and are required to furnish certification from the registrar of ranking and other attainments in law school. To meet this requirement, applicants must graduate in the upper one-third of your law class and achieve one of the following accomplishments:

Work or achievement of significance on their school's Official Law Review;

Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif;

Winning a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team which represents the law school in competition with other law schools;

Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program as opposed to intermittent or casual participation;

Significant summer law-office clerk experience; or

Other equivalent evidence of superior achievement.

Grade Determination: In addition to the Basic Requirements for employment identified, the following criteria are the minimum qualifications for the GS-11 level:
(a) Possess one year of experience or less in the practice of law as described in the Quality of Experience; or
(b) Meet the qualification through the Superior Qualification Program.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Administrative Law
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Critical Thinking
• Analytical Thinking
• Reasoning
• Writing
• Teamwork

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, but requires periods of walking, standing, bending, or climbing, and employees may carry light items such as books, instruments, laptops, and other similar materials.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified : applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

In accordance with 5 C.F.R. § 302.101(c), Veterans' preference applies as far as administratively feasible.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.