Summary This is a Defense Legal Services Agency (DLSA) position with duty in the Office of General Counsel, Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). The General Counsel of the Department of Defense is dual hatted as the DLSA Director; DLSA provides a full range of legal advice and services to officials of the Defense Agencies and the DoD Field Activities. DeCA is a Defense Agency responsible for operating military commissaries worldwide. Responsibilities The incumbent serves as an attorney advisor, counselor, consultant and legal expert performing a wide range of legal services in connection with the statutes and regulations that address all aspects of federal employment law, including but not limited to employee appointment, classification, compensation, benefits, conduct, performance, termination of employment, labor management relations, and equal employment opportunity. The incumbent provides oral and written advice in the areas of federal personnel and labor law. The incumbent represents the agency before third parties, including but not limited to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the Office of Special Counsel, and is responsible for the investigation, preparation and presentation of the agency's positions and defenses before such tribunals. The incumbent addresses difficult and novel legal policy questions where frequently there is an absence of clearly applicable precedents. The incumbent prepares litigation reports, and, when directed by the agency General Counsel, assists U.S. Attorneys and attorneys of the Department of Justice in civil and criminal matters in the courts of the United States and of the several states and territories. The incumbent provides general federal procurement and acquisition law advice, ethics advice, environmental law advice, and advice concerning the law of military installations and the law relating to independent contractors. The Defense Commissary Agency is an Equal Employment Opportunity Agency Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Qualification requirements for Attorney positions can be found in DoD Instruction 1442.02, "Personnel Actions Involving Civilian Attorneys." The minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration. Applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD) from that institution. Bar Membership: An applicant must currently be an active member of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicant must have professional legal experience in excess of 3 years that is commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position License/Certification: Bar Certificate of Good Standing reflecting Active Status. Basis for Rating: 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 knowledge, skills and abilities associated with the position. SELECTIVE FACTORS: Selection will be based on the judgment of the selecting official as to which applicant is best qualified to perform the duties of the position. The breadth and depth of relevant experience and knowledge, and the quality of past performance, will be the primary considerations used for selection. Important selection factors are demonstrated litigation skill, legal analytical ability, excellence in communication skills, including written and oral communications, client relations/customer support and interpersonal skills; knowledge of federal personnel and labor law, including but not limited to employee appointment, classification, compensation, benefits, conduct, performance, termination of employment, labor management relations, and equal employment opportunity; representational skills before third parties, including but not limited to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Office of Special Counsel, the investigation, preparation and presentation of the agency's positions and defenses before such tribunals, and experience in preparing litigation reports for the Department of Justice. Other desirable selection factors are knowledge of federal procurement and acquisition law, the law of the military installation, commercial activities, environmental law, intellectual property, dispute resolution, and the law relating to independent contractors. A selection panel may be used and oral interviews may be conducted with all, with some, or with none of the applicants, solely at the option of the selecting official. Examples of Specialized Experience Include: Demonstrating strong litigation experience in criminal law, civil law and/or employment and labor law. Representing a client in matters involving labor and employment law, from initial complaint to final disposition. Reviewing investigations and investigative reports for legal and evidentiary sufficiency. Utilizing representational skills before 3rd parties, including but not limited to the MSPB, EEOC, FLRA, and the Office of Special Counsel. Education Your education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See https://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ for more information. Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position. We accept unofficial transcripts for the application process, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned. Transcripts must be received by this office no later than 11:59 PM EST on the closing date in order to be considered. If selected, an official transcript MUST be received before an Entrance of Duty date is set. The successful applicant may be required to submit, prior to appointment: an official transcript of the applicant's law school records with an official statement of his relative standing in his class, if obtainable. an official certificate showing active membership, in good standing, of a qualifying legal bar. a statement that their fitness to practice law or their conduct as an attorney have never been challenged. If fitness or conduct has been challenged, a statement explaining the circumstances must be provided. Additional Information REGARDING INTERVIEWS: Interviews may be required for this position. Accommodations may be made to conduct telephonic interviews to preclude travel hardships for applicants. Re-employed Annuitant: A former Federal employee who has retired under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) is an Annuitant. An annuitant cannot be hired (i.e. re-employed) unless the vacant position meets the criteria in the Department of Defense (DOD) policy on employment of annuitants issued December 10, 2008. The DoD criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/1400.25-V300.pdf. Re-employed Annuitant: This position does not meet criteria for re-employed annuitant. Other Notes: Deliberate attempts to falsify your application information, such as copying portions of this job announcement into your resume, may result in you being removed from consideration for this position. Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement upon its closing. Applicants selected from this announcement may be required to serve a Two Year probationary period. Financial Difficulty - https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/Mythbuster_on_Federal_Hiring_Policies_0.pdf COVID - To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
