Attorney Advisor (General)

Summary

The incumbent serves as an Attorney Advisor in the Office of the General Counsel in Kansas City, Missouri, and will provide legal advice, research, analyze and interpret federal, state and local laws, and provide oral and written opinions, memoranda, pleadings, briefs and support for all USDA's programs and litigation. This is an open-continuous announcement with an initial cut-off date of 06/25/2026 and then every month thereafter. Please see the "How to Apply " section.

Duties

• Attorneys provide practical, solution-oriented legal counsel on a broad range of transactional and commercial matters, balancing objectives, statutory and regulatory compliance and legal risk. You will:
• Draft and review documents for commercial and transactional work: e.g., debtor, creditor and bankruptcy, contracts, Federal Tort Claims Act, property law claims, crop insurance, loan and grant transactions, corporate structure, trusts and estates.
• Provide legal advice and counsel to USDA agencies in furtherance of the Secretary’s programs and policies.
• Research and advise on compliance with laws, regulations, contracts, organizational documents, loan security documents and other statutory requirements. Resolve contract disputes, subpoena responses, regulatory inquiries, and complaints.
• Serve as liaison between USDA agencies and the Department of Justice in litigation concerning USDA programs.
• Coordinate with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop litigation responses and strategy.
• Represent USDA agencies in formal administrative adjudication and subsequent District Court review of administrative decisions.
• Draft and review legal documents, including briefs, contracts, legal opinions, and agency documents.
• Perform other projects, duties, and tasks as assigned, please see full performance level duties below.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. For consideration, applicants must meet the minimum qualifications for attorney positions: Successful completion of a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the America Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (J.D. or equivalent degree) (Law School transcript required); and Currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Applicants should have demonstrated specialized experience in legal research, excellent writing and communication skills, and a strong employment and academic record. This experience should be clearly documented in the cover letter and resume. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE In addition to the basic requirements, the following additional experience is required. Your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. GS-11: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the (GS-09) level in the Federal service or equivalent responsibility in the private sector/pay systems that has equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform as an Attorney Advisor (General)possessing excellent written and communication skills, strong writing and research ability, a strong academic record, problem-solving ability and demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously; Providing legal advice, research, analysis and interpretation of federal, state, and local laws; Assisting in writing opinions, memoranda, pleadings, briefs, and legal support of agency/organization programs and litigation; Performing legal services as assigned; Preparing various kinds of legal documents, both for specific case use and for general use under guidance; Ability to conduct legal research to handle cases; Ability to apply legal analysis and make sound legal judgment to find appropriate precedent or distinguish applicable law or facts to support or justify position. NOTE: This experience must be demonstrated on your resume/supporting documents. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Education: Successful completion of a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the America Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (J.D. or equivalent degree) (law school transcript required). Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the above requirements (education and bar membership). Inadequate or illegible information could result in non-qualification and loss of consideration. If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You MUST submit a copy of your transcript if you want to substitute your education for experience. If you claim qualifications based on education, and do not submit a transcript, your education will not be used in making a qualification determination and you may be found "not qualified." 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. Bar Membership: Applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Written Narrative: You must submit a written narrative (not to exceed 1,200 words) explaining your interest in working for USDA's Office of the General Counsel and its commercial and transactional work. (Note: This position does not include any environmental work). The narrative should note any specific relevant course work, training, or experience that you believe should be considered in evaluating your application, as well as showing you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies listed in this announcement. 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.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Open-Continuous Cut-off Information: An initial cut-off date of 11:59pm EST on June 25, 2026, will be used to evaluate candidates for the initial available vacancies. Any application received after the initial cut-off date will only be considered should additional vacancies be received after the initial cut-off date. Subsequent cut-offs will occur at monthly intervals throughout the duration of the announcement open period; cut-off dates are as follows at 11:59pm EST: June 25, 2026 July 25, 2026 August 25, 2026 September 25, 2026 October 25, 2026 November 25- December 4, 2026 Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12972192 This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.