Duties

Summary

About the Position: This position is located at, US Army Military District of the Washington Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

If you are currently serving in a permanent, competitive service appointment in the Federal service, and are selected for this position, the appointment will remove you from the competitive service while you occupy this position.
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Responsibilities

• Interviews and provides legal counseling to active duty, dependents, retired military personnel, and other personnel entitled to assistance under AR 27-3.
• Responsible for the accuracy, legal efficacy, and professional appearance of wills, powers of attorney, deeds, bills of sale, leases, affidavits, contracts, promissory notes, etc. and other legal documents prepared by personnel in the branch.
• Assists military and civilian personnel who have been tentatively found liable for a loss of or damage to Government property undergoing a Financial Liability of Investigation of Property Loss (FLIPL).
• As Chief, Client Services Division, has responsibility for, and provides technical guidance to, training, and supervision of all Legal Assistance and Claims Attorneys within the Division.
• Responsible for the supervision and guidance of all legal assistance attorneys assigned as Special Victim Counsel (SVC).
• Responsible for the implementation and technical supervision of the annual electronic tax filing program (the Tax Center), within the guidelines set by the IRS under its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), and the Staff Judge Advocate.
• Responsible for scheduling and distributing workload within the Division, interprets policies and procedures, establishes priorities, and reviews work.
• Manages, supervises, and performs claims in an Area Claims Office under the aegis of the U.S. Army Claims Service (USARCS), a Field Operating Agency of the Department of the Army.
• Responsible for supervising, planning, and organizing the work of claims personnel.
• Manages and practices a preventive law program by preparing articles and classes on recurring legal issues.
• Develops innovative programs to increase and enhance the quality and quantity of client services offered to the community.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• A two year trial/probationary period may be required.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance for access for the duration of employment.
• This position requires the incumbent to maintain active bar membership, in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

Applicants will be evaluated to determine if they meet the minimum qualification requirements and on the extent to which their application shows possession of the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the position. KSA's:

(1) Skill in identifying and researching highly technical and complex legal issues.
(2) Skill in providing legal, technical, and policy guidance.
(3) Ability to effectively, professionally, and ethically manage a heavy caseload of clients with complex legal needs.
(4) Ability to supervise or lead others.

Qualification Requirements: The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

Education Requirements: Position requires the possession of the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) AND active membership in the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants for initial appointment into attorney positions within the Department of Army must be graduates of law schools accredited by the American Bar Association at the time of the applicant's graduation. As indicated below, a law school transcript must be submitted with your application materials.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As noted below, proof of such membership and good standing must be submitted with your application materials.

Experience: In addition to the requirements above, applicants for the GS-13 or equivalent Attorney positions must also possess 2 years of professional legal experience , acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LLM may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience.

Time in Grade: The Qualifying Authorities (QA's) will make a determination as to the applicability of time in grade based on the requirements of the position. If you are currently employed as an attorney by the Federal government you must have completed one year at the next lower grade level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade level as the position being filled.

NOTICE OF VETERAN'S PREFERENCE: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., DD Form 214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty") to their submissions.

Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference", and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. The SF 15 will identify the supporting documentation required along with the list of the types of 10-point preference. The SF 15 is available from the OPM at https://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/sf/

Education

Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html .

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE THAT REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION, TIME IN GRADE, AND EXPERIENCE MAY BE WAIVED BY THE APPLICABLE AUTHORITY AND THE REQUIREMENTS SHOULD NOT DETER ANY INDIVIDUAL FROM APPLYING FOR THE POSITION.

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Two year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a Career Program (CP) 56-Legal position.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application package (resume and supporting documents) will be evaluated for basic qualification requirements and for the skills needed to perform the duties of the position, as described in this vacancy announcement and identified by the Selecting Official.

Veteran's preference requirements do not apply to attorney positions in the excepted service, however the principles of veteran's preference will be followed to the extent which is administratively feasible.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
National security

Required Documents

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF AN APPLICANT DOES NOT HAVE THEIR LAW SCHOOLTRANSCRIPTS, CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING, OR FITNESS TOPRACTICE STATEMENT, HE/SHE SHOULD NOT BE DETERRED FROMAPPLYING FOR THE POSITIONS. THE DOCUMENTS BELOW ARE REQUIREDFOR AN ATTORNEY TO ENTER ON DUTY; HOWEVER, THEY ARE PREFERRED,BUT NOT REQUIRED, AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION.

Resume: If you submit a resume with inappropriate material e.g. photos, you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your resume may be submitted in any format. For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). Resumes that do not contain this information will be marked as insufficient and applicants may not receive consideration for this position.

Official Law School Transcripts: Official law school transcript and an official statement of relative standing in class. Photo static copies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering duty.

Good Standing Certificate: Official certificate showing that you are a member in good standing of the bar dated at any time. However, in the event the candidate is selected for an interview and/or during the hiring process, the candidate must provide an official certificate dated within three months. The certificate is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active duty Army Judge Advocates).

Fitness to Practice Statement: A sworn (notarized) statement from you that your fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction to the best of your knowledge, or if either has been challenged, a sworn (notarized) statement concerning the facts and circumstances, together with any explanation that you deem appropriate may be submitted.

As an alternative to a sworn (notarized) statement, a statement which includes a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date)? (your signature)." (28 U.S.C. 1746). The statement must be dated within three months of the date that the application package is submitted. The statement is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active duty Army Judge Advocates).

Writing Sample: Examples of writing skills as demonstrated by legal briefs, memorandum, and/or letters. Regardless of the number of writing samples submitted, the page count of all writing samples combined cannot exceed 10 pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable. NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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.