Trial Attorney (Labor)

Summary

This is a trial attorney position in the Plan Benefits Security Division ("PBSD"), Office of Solicitor ("SOL"), U.S. Department of Labor. PBSD provides legal advice and litigation services to the Employee Benefits Security Administration relating to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"). PBSD conducts complex litigation under ERISA to protect the interests of workers and retirees in their pension, health, and other ERISA-covered employee benefit plans.

Duties

• The incumbent represents the Secretary of Labor as plaintiff in civil litigation enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and portions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 ("ACA") in United States district courts throughout the country. The incumbent will work under the supervision of senior attorneys and often as part of a litigation team. The litigation protects the pension and health benefits of employees participating in ERISA-covered benefit plans by obtaining injunctive and substantial monetary relief against plan trustees and other fiduciaries who have breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA. The pension benefit cases often involve investments of plan assets, and an understanding of the financial transactions at issue is important to evaluating the merits of the case and effectively using our expert witnesses and challenging the opponents' experts. The health benefit cases involve novel and challenging issues under ERISA and the ACA and may require expert witnesses. The incumbent will also litigate cases seeking civil monetary penalties under ERISA section 502(c)(2) before administrative law tribunals. The incumbent's responsibilities include legal assistance during investigations conducted by our client agency within DOL, the Employee Benefits Security Administration ("EBSA"), reviewing investigations conducted by EBSA, and preparing a written factual and legal analysis and recommendation as to whether the Secretary should bring an enforcement suit based on the investigation. The attorney is responsible for preparing court pleadings and motions, arguing and presenting evidence and witnesses in court hearings, and conducting all forms of pretrial discovery, settlement negotiations, and trials, often as part of a team of attorneys with various levels of experience. These responsibilities require the ability to aggressively pursue the litigation to conclusion through settlement, summary judgment, or trial and the ability to work cooperatively with other trial attorneys, supervisors, paralegals, and support staff. The incumbent may also have the opportunity to brief and argue appeals in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, including cases in which the Secretary is participating as amicus curiae.The incumbent may also provide legal opinion and advice in connection with drafting or reviewing regulations under the ERISA, proposed legislation, ERISA prohibited transaction exemptions, ERISA advisory opinions, and other legal guidance.

Qualifications

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. To qualify for an attorney position, applicants must possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.); be a member in good standing of the bar of a court of general jurisdiction of a state, territory or possession of the U.S.; and have acquired the amount of experience indicated below for each grade level. For GS-13 grade level, applicants must have two (2) years of post-law experience progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level. For GS-14 grade level, applicants must have three (3) years of post-law experience progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level. At least one year of qualifying experience, at this level, must be Specialized Experience as defined below. Specialized Experience that is qualifying for this position is defined as experience in conducting investigation or litigation of civil cases or a clerkship in federal or state trial or appellate courts or administrative agencies. NOTE: A LL.M. may be substituted for a maximum of one year of experience. Transcripts: You must provide a copy of your law school transcript to be considered for this position. Verification of your academic degree(s) is necessary to determine your qualifications or eligibility for this position, you will be required to submit an official transcript for verification purposes before you are hired. However, unofficial transcripts may be submitted during the application phase of the process. Please note that your J.D. or LL. B degree must be conferred before you can begin working.

Education

A LL.B or J.D. is a requirement for this position. If you do not submit sufficient academic documentation necessary to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy. Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service. If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum course work requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

How to apply

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration. Paper applications and supplemental documents submitted in any other manner without prior approval from the vacancy contact will not be considered. Click here for information on Reasonable Accommodations. Important - Save your information before the 30 minute system timeout! For help, go to USAJOBS Help Center. STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. Your resume must provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses to the self-assessment vacancy questions. If not, HR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the competency indicated by resume content. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete. NOTE: In alignment with the Presidential Memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, applicants may only submit a resume limited to two (2) pages. Only the résumé uploaded under the 'Resume" document type in USAJOBS will be reviewed. If the resume submitted exceeds two (2) pages, the application will be deemed ineligible for further consideration. STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS). Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button. STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy. STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button. STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, then Update Application. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor, How to Apply website.