Duties

Summary

The position is located in the Office of the General Counsel's (OGC), Educational Equity Division (Division). The Division provides legal advice on civil rights issues related to race, national origin, sex, disability, and age discrimination, and on all aspects of the administration of several grant programs, including programs authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

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Responsibilities

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 250 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 250th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

· Providing legal advice to client offices on the statutory and regulatory requirements of programs within the purview of the Division.

· Being the lead attorney representing the Department and working with the Department of Justice(DOJ) on Federal court litigation, including drafting and/or reviewing briefs, motions, memoranda, or other filings.

· Being the lead attorney on discovery matters and representing the Department in meetings to develop litigation strategy.

· Reviewing briefs and other filings for possible amicus participation.

· Being the lead attorney representing the Department's position in administrative hearings and proceedings, including appeals of final audit determinations.

· Drafting and filing pleadings and responses; conducting discovery; creating the Department's record by identifying, locating, contacting, and preparing the Department's witnesses and by locating and compiling any documentary support for the case.

· Negotiating with the parties as appropriate.

· Conducting direct and cross-examination at hearings.

· Presenting legal arguments and arranging for the procurement and review of transcripts, as necessary.

· Timely filing all written motions, briefs and other documents as required.

· Being responsible for Federal court litigation assigned through all levels of appeal.

· Providing legal advice to the Secretary and Department offices on civil rights laws and policy.

· Independently preparing written legal advice and providing oral legal advice in response to question raised internally, and from outside of the Department, on the interpretation of applicable law, including statues, regulations, other issuances, and Federal and State court cases.

· Taking on assignments, as needed, within the purview of the Division that are outside of your regular portfolio.

The duties described above reflect the duties at the GS-13 level.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Less than 10% of the time.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must complete a Background Investigation and fingerprint check.
• Relocation Expenses will not be paid.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.

GS-13:

Minimum Qualifications:

(1) Law degree

(2) Letter of good standing in a bar;

PROOF MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

You must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.

Proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

PROOF MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION.

Specialized Experience for the GS-13:

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

Experience preparing written legal advice and/or renders oral legal advice on the interpretation of applicable Federal law, including statutes, regulations, other issuances, and/or Federal and State court cases that identifies the issues, distinguishes relevant from irrelevant facts, and makes judgments as to strategy and approach.

Experience working on litigation through two or more of the following: drafting pleadings and/or responses; creating the agency record; identifying, locating, contacting, and preparing witnesses: locating and compiling any documentary support for the case; negotiating with the parties as appropriate; conducting direct and/or cross examination at the hearings; presenting legal arguments; and/or preparing written motions, briefs, and other documents as required.

Experience negotiating the resolution of legal issues with officials and/or their attorneys, including representatives of Federal departments or agencies, State and institutional officials, and/or with representatives of private interest groups.

For appointment at the GS-13 level, the following qualification requirements are needed: Three (3) or more years of professional legal experience acquired after being admitted to the Bar. You must have one year of specialized experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position at a level close to the work of this job that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform.

Education

You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be a member in good standing of a Bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Additional information

Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email Iwork@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Financial Disclosure: This position require will a financial disclosure.

Telework: This position is telework eligible.

Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the excepted service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer the best qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possess, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

You are required to submit the following additional documents:

Resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.

Letter of interest;

Writing sample;

Statement explaining the status of your State bar membership or a certificate of good standing from your bar membership and

Law school transcript if you have not been out of law school for more than 5 years.

These documents must be submitted on-line at time of application. Documents must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement

If you are claiming Veterans' Preference you must submit

•A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
•A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
•The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
•Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).

Veteran's Preference:

Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.