Attorney-Adviser

Summary

You will serve as an Attorney Advisor (Employment and General Law) in the General Law Practice Group, within the NASA Office of the General Counsel. The Group provides legal counsel on ethics, fiscal, employment, information, and other administrative law matters and represents the Agency in litigation and hearings. You will perform duties in general law areas, with a focus on employment, including counseling senior managers and defending judicial and administrative discrimination complaints.

Duties

• Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
• Conducts and evaluates research and drafts and reviews legal documents, including briefs, legal opinions, and documents regarding novel and complex legal issues related to civil rights, labor, employment law, and other general law matters.
• Prepares legal interpretations of statutes, federal regulations and agency directives. Reviews proposed legislation, executive orders, regulations, and Congressional testimony.
• Prepares and advises management on legal interpretations of statutes, federal regulations and agency directives. Advises on proposed legislation, executive orders, regulations, and Congressional testimony.
• Serves as a legal advisor for Agency personnel on novel general law matters. Experience in other general law areas is desirable, such as fiscal, ethics, environmental, information disclosure, tort claims, safety and security, and civil rights.
• Represents NASA in formal administrative and federal civil litigation proceedings, including Federal Courts, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority.
• Serves as a liaison between NASA and the Department of Justice in litigation concerning NASA programs. Assists in other litigation responsibilities as requested by management.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements for all grade levels: You must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from a full course of study at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; be an active member in good standing of the bar of any state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and have been admitted to practice law before a state or federal court. To qualify for the GS-14: you must meet the basic requirement for all grade levels (as outlined above). In addition, one of the following requirements must be satisfied: One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level: Offering oral and written legal guidance on federal personnel law, employment discrimination law, labor relations, and other legal issues to managers, supervisors and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) officers, including addressing grievances and discrimination complaints informally; Providing legal guidance to clients in general law practice areas, such as fiscal, security, release of information, ethics, environmental, administrative, legislative review, regulatory review or other areas; Completing tasks, such as writing and reviewing briefs, conducting discovery, taking and defending depositions, and otherwise handling litigation in areas like federal employment law, labor law, EEO law, and other general law practice areas with minimal oversight; Supporting representation of clients in formal administrative and federal civil litigation. OR A graduate law degree (e.g., Master of Laws/LL.M.) and 1 year of professional legal experience equivalent to the experience described above. To qualify for the GS-15: you must meet the basic requirement for all grade levels (as outlined above). In addition, one of the following requirements must be satisfied: One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level: Delivering expert oral and written legal counsel on complex federal personnel law, employment discrimination law, labor relations, and other specialized legal matters to management, supervisors, and EEO officers, including the proactive informal resolution of employee grievances, disputes, and discrimination complaints; Providing legal guidance to senior leadership and other clients in general law practice areas, such as fiscal, security, release of information, ethics, environmental, administrative, legislative review, regulatory review, or other areas; Managing and executing tasks, such as writing and reviewing briefs, conducting discovery, taking and defending depositions, and otherwise handling litigation independently in areas such as federal employment law, labor law, EEO law, and other general law practice areas; Representing clients in formal administrative and federal civil litigation. OR A graduate law degree (e.g., Master of Laws/LL.M.) and 1 year of professional legal experience equivalent to the experience described above. Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of artificial intelligent (AI) or AI-assisted tools during the application process.

Education

Basic Requirements: U.S. degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. These education credentials must be 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application and have all required information available. We encourage you to provide a complete description of your educational achievements and include both paid and non-paid work in the experience portion of your resume. If you submit a resume that does not contain the required information, you may lose consideration. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, you will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application process. Once logged in to your account, click on the "Apply" link. Follow the prompts to select your resume (2 pages or fewer) and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. Resumes longer than 2 pages will be rejected by the system. Resumes submitted via other document types will not be forwarded to the hiring manager, nor will they be used in the review of your qualifications. We strongly encourage you to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder when creating your resume. Using the resume builder will help you ensure your resume includes important information related to your qualifications and eligibility for this position. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. During the application process you can review, edit, delete and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the 'Include Personal Information' section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the vacancy questionnaire which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify all required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. NASA's online application process provides step by step guidance to ensure you provide all needed information. If you are unable to apply online, please contact [email protected] for assistance. Be advised - application materials faxed, emailed, and/or mailed to NASA Headquarters will not be accepted for this announcement. NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.