TRAVEL REQUIRED:

Occasional travel - Travel may be required 1-5 days per month

RELOCATION AUTHORIZED:
Relocation expenses reimbursed No

KEY REQUIREMENTS:
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You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

You must meet the definition of professional and specialized experience.

You must possess a Law Degree and an active bar membership of any state.

Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.

Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)

Confidential Financial Disclosure filing is required for this positon.

• Meet the following education requirements: possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school.
• Be a current member of the Bar in Good Standing of any state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any U.S. territory.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has not issued qualification standards for Attorney positions. However, the agency sets minimum qualifications for Attorney positions and sets forth these qualification for each vacancy announcement. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement.

To be eligible for this position, you must:

1. Be a U.S. Citizen or National
2. Meet the following education requirements: possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school.
3. Be a current member of the Bar in Good Standing of any state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any U.S. territory.
4. Suitable for Federal employment.
5. Minimum of 1 year of experience in (1) Intellectual property issues in China or (2) Science and technology in China

Sufficient Chinese (Mandarin) language fluency to read, conduct research in Chinese, and to engage directly in Chinese with Chinese speaking officials, experts and stakeholders is preferred but not required.

In addition to the eligibility requirement listed above, you must have:

For the GS 14: three (3) years of the professional legal experience and one (1) year of specialized qualifying experience listed below:

For the GS 15: four (4) years of the professional legal experience and one (1) year of specialized qualifying experience listed below:

AND

Professional law experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled.

This experience is characterized by breadth and depth of experience in rendering professional legal advice and services with respect to questions, regulations, practices, or other matters failing within the purview of a Federal government agency, private sector, law firm, or other organizations; preparing interpretive and administrative orders, rules, or regulations to give effect to the provisions of governing statutes or other requirements of law; drafting, negotiating, or examining contracts or other legal documents; drafting, preparing formal comments, or making substantive recommendations regarding proposed legislation; editing and preparing for publication statutes enacted by Congress and opinions or decisions of a court, commission, or board; drafting and reviewing decisions for consideration and adoption by an organization or official; conducting investigations to obtain facts; determining questions of law; and studying, analyzing and evaluating legal precedents, to present findings.

Legal work is described as complex and difficult and requires a high order of original and creative legal endeavor in balancing conflicting interests, has broad or wide-scope impact on an economy, industry, private or public interests, and may involve directly or indirectly very large sums of money.
Work may also involve acting as principal attorney in charge of the preparation and presentation of cases, recommending policies and developing procedures and regulations to implement new or amended legislation, and acting as legal, general, or senior counsel to a major firm or organization.

In addition to the specialized experience and professional experience required for this position, candidates must have a minimum of 1 year of experience in (1) Intellectual property issues in China or (2) Science and technology in China.

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

GS-14

Candidates for the GS-14 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-13 grade level in the Federal service in the following:

Skill Set 1 - Rendering legal advice and guidance, and technical assistance involving intellectual property policies, laws and enforcement on an international scale.
 
Skill Set 2 - Preparing briefing materials, papers, and testimony for domestic and international intellectual property issues.
 
Skill Set 3 - Researching and analyzing intellectual property policies, laws and regulations in order to assist clients with intellectual property matters.

GS-15

Candidates for the GS-15 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-14 grade level in the Federal service in the following:

Skill Set 1 - Independently rendering legal advice and guidance, and technical assistance involving intellectual property policies, laws and enforcement on an international scale.
 
Skill Set 2 - Independently designing strategies for presenting information on issues of importance regarding intellectual property to senior management.
 
Skill Set 3 - Analyzing intellectual property policies and laws in order to advise clients and senior management on international intellectual property matters.

In addition to the specialized experience and professional experience required for this position, candidates must have a minimum of 1 year of experience in (1) Intellectual property issues in China or (2) Science and technology in China.

The minimum education requirement for this position is a conferred Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Masters of Laws (L.L.B). from an accredited college or university.

You are required to submit a copy of your law degree transcripts prior to the close of this vacancy announcement.  Please refer to the "Required Documents" section of this announcement for more information regarding transcripts.

You must be in good standing and hold an active bar membership from any U.S. state, territory, or Washington, D.C.  Proof of active bar membership in good standing must be submitted with your application, prior to the close of this vacancy announcement.

Applicants applying for this position must be a United States Citizen. 

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a bargaining unit position.

This position requires a Top Secret security clearance.

This position requires a Financial OF-450 Disclosure.  For more information on 450 filing, please visit:  https://www.oge.gov/Web/278eGuide.nsf/Content/For+Ethics+Officials+Document~1.02:+Individuals+Required+to+File

If selected, you will be required to complete a initial two (2) year trial period.

Telework Eligibility is at the supervisor's discretion

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) will be eligible if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website 

CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the ‘Required Documents’ section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors.  If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act.  Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email (oeeod@uspto.gov) or phone (571-272-8292). 

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

Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume.

Please Note: Writing samples may be requested prior to being interviewed.

Your resume and any other supporting documentation will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).

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Read more Security clearance Top Secret

Drug test required No