Attorney Advisor (FOIA)

Summary

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is one of the best places to work in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and is one of the premier inspector general offices in federal government. The mission of the OIG is to detect and deter fraud, waste, abuse and misconduct in DOJ. The DOJ-OIG Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice on complex issues relevant to general OIG operations and specific OIG audits, investigations, inspections, and reviews.

Duties

• Serve as an OIG OGC attorney primarily assigned to support the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Unit as a client. The attorney will work on matters of national scope that involve the balancing of public access with effective law enforcement. The selected candidate will be required to coordinate with DOJ litigators and U.S. Attorneys' offices across the country. The attorney will ensure that OIG equities are protected in a host of high- profile and complex matters, including those in litigation. Provides legal advice to, and consults and coordinates with, personnel in DOJ and other federal agencies on issues at the intersection of law enforcement and civil litigation with an emphasis on FOIA and other information disclosure-related matters, including in complicated multi-agency FOIA and Privacy Act (PA) cases. To that end, drafts, edits, and reviews legal documents, including briefs and declarations, relating to FOIA and PA cases in litigation and keeps others within the OIG, as well as Department leadership, apprised of the status of litigation. Provides guidance in the development and establishment of FOIA/PA policies and procedures to ensure that significant FOIA/PA issues are identified and addressed. Provides legal advice and guidance in connection with classification reviews, especially those that may impact release of information pursuant to FOIA requests. Provides legal advice and guidance regarding records and information retention and related issues as needed. Provides support to the OIG FOIA Unit and the OIG General Counsel as needed to advance the OIG mission. Assists with other OGC responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position you must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, possess a J.D. Degree, and be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction). Possessing the minimum post law degree legal experience does not guarantee the applicant will be selected at that grade level. Specialized Experience: In addition, to qualify for this position at the GS-15 level, applicants must have at least 4 years or more post-J.D. legal experience, one (1) of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include providing legal opinions or memoranda on complex and difficult issues of law; reviewing and preparing recommendations for responses to subpoenas and other requests for production of materials; in depth knowledge of FOIA rules and regulations; and conducting litigation, including trying cases, before courts and administrative tribunal. You must meet all qualifications by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume and supporting documents must also clearly demonstrate that you have the experience listed to qualify for this position.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov. A J.D., or equivalent, degree. Applicants who possess an equivalent degree rather than a J.D. may be subject to additional review by the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management.

How to apply

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/21/2026to receive consideration. Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. 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 above. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements) Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can reuse the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.