Duties

Summary

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal counsel and services to the Director and staff of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), the Judicial Conference of the United States and its committees, and judges and staff of the United States courts. The Office is headed by the General Counsel, who also serves as a senior policy advisor to the Director.
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Responsibilities

The Assistant General Counsel will serve as Staff Counsel to the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability (Committee), which oversees the administration of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 351-364 and the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings. More information about judicial conduct and disability procedures and actions is available here .

Under the direction of the Committee Chair and the General Counsel, the Assistant General Counsel will be responsible for the following:

Assisting in the review and consideration of judicial conduct and disability complaints before the Committee;

Providing advice and guidance to judges and court staff related to the judicial conduct and disability complaint process;

Training judges and court staff regarding judicial conduct and disability complaint procedures;

Monitoring judicial conduct and disability activity, including complaint proceedings nationwide and tracking trends and issues for Committee consideration;

Formulating, drafting, and maintaining educational and informational resources regarding the judicial conduct and disability complaint process;

Administering the rulemaking process for proposed amendments to the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings;

Supporting bi-annual Committee meetings to discuss the Committee's work, judicial conduct and disability-related matters, and trends across circuits;

Supporting the work of the Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group, specifically related to judicial conduct and disability-related issues;

Working with other Administrative Office entities to consider proposed legislation related to judicial conduct and disability and respond to inquiries from Congress, scholarly commentators, and other stakeholders; and

Contributing to OGC's employment law service offerings.

In performing these duties, the Assistant General Counsel will provide the Committee with legal, policy, and practical advice, and prepare written material on sensitive matters involving possible misconduct or disability of particular judges, on the interpretation of laws governing the complaint process, and analyzing actions the Committee might contemplate.

Other duties for the Committee include:

Considering and advising upon legal, policy, and operational questions relating to the administration of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act posed by judges, court staff, and the Administrative Office;

Reviewing circuit chief judges' and circuit judicial councils' complaint-related orders for legal sufficiency and periodically reporting on them to the Committee; and

Advising agency staff on the collection and presentation of statistical data relating to the complaint process.

The Assistant General Counsel may also perform other duties for the Office of General Counsel, including providing advice on employment law and ethics issues related to the statutes and codes of conduct which apply to judges and judiciary staff.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

Applicants must possess a demonstrated ability to provide high-quality and well-written legal, factual, and policy analysis, as well as skill in communicating effectively and building relationships with multiple institutional and other entities.

Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

As discussed in more detail below, applicants must have:

• Law Degree;
• Current bar membership;
• Four years or more of post J.D. experience working as an attorney;
• At least one year of post J.D experience working as an attorney in either state or federal government (service in the federal judiciary is preferred); and
• One year of specialized experience.

Details on Qualification Requirements

Law Degree: Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/ .

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a federal court of general jurisdiction.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the Administrative Office of the US Courts. In instances where non-citizens are considered for hire into temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO's Human Resources Office that there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the United States and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at http://ww.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens . For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification .

All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.

All new AO employees must identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.

You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.

If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Relocation expenses may be provided, but only if authorized by the Director of the AO.

Qualifications

Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Bar Membership : Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Post J.D. Experience : Subsequent to graduation from law school, applicants must have at least four years of experience working as an attorney. At least one year of this experience must be working as an attorney for an agency or other unit of the state or federal government, with service in a state or federal court or other entity in the federal judiciary preferred. Service as a judicial law clerk to an Article III Judge, or to another judicial officer of the federal judiciary, or in a court or other unit of the federal judiciary does satisfy this preference.

Specialized Experience : Subsequent to graduation from law school, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (preferably five years or more) which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience iswork as an attorney at a senior level, providing legal advice on complex and sensitive issues to high-level executives and officials in a government agency or other entity. It is preferred that this experience includes providing advice related to ethics and conduct.

Education

Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/ .

Additional information

The AO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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 resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required:

• Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications.
• Citizenship - Include country of citizenship on resume.
• Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) - All applicants outside of the AO must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 to verify current or former Federal employment status.
• Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

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.