Trial Attorney (Appellate)

Summary

This position is in the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Litigation Division, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) located in Washington, DC. RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL NOT BE PAID. THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT MAY BE USED TO FILL ADDITIONAL POSITIONS WITHIN 90 DAYS.

Duties

• As a Trial Attorney, some of your typical work assignments may include: Serving as a senior attorney representing the Commission in a variety of matters, primarily in the federal appellate courts, as well as (on occasion) the federal trial courts and other tribunals. Assisting the staff in the Office of the Solicitor General in preparing the government's filings for cases involving the Commission in the Supreme Court. Advising the Commission on legal issues arising from pending and threatened litigation, as well as from administrative proceedings before the agency. Providing legal advice and services on projects involving complex legal, factual, and policy issues, and otherwise assisting managers and supervisors with a wide cross-section of assigned projects. Conducting legal research and answering legal questions; recommending a course of action based on legal, policy, and practical concerns; and preparing or assisting in the preparation of legal memoranda advising on the status of investigations or litigation, as well as on the significance of judicial decisions in cases involving the Commission or otherwise relevant to its work. Consulting with other FCC Bureaus and Offices on Commission agenda items, and presenting matters to the Commission for decisions.

Qualifications

Interested candidates should be passionate about the ideals of our American republic, committed to upholding the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, and committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government. Hiring decisions will not be based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. Applicants must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Professional law experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. In order to be deemed as "BEST QUALIFIED" candidates must meet both the educational requirements AND the Specialized Experience. A. Education You must meet the minimum basic educational requirements for Attorney positions. Education requirements include: a professional law degree JD, LL.B., and/or LL.M. NOTE-If you do not provide a transcript at the time of application, a transcript will be required to be provided at the time of selection. AND B. Specialized Experience A. Education You must meet the minimum basic educational requirements for Attorney positions. Education requirements include: a professional law degree JD, LL.B., and/or LL.M. NOTE-If you do not provide a transcript at the time of application, a transcript will be required to be provided at the time of selection. AND B. Specialized Experience For the GS-14 position: Applicant must possess at least three years of professional law experience and at least one year of that experience must be specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal Service performing the following: serving as a litigator in the federal or state courts of appeals, participating in motions practice before federal or state trial courts, and/or litigating cases before other tribunals; drafting pleadings, briefs, and motions; conducting legal research on complex issues; analyzing complicated legal and technical issues and developing litigation strategies; and providing legal advice on a variety of matters to attorneys and other professionals. For the GS-15 position: Applicant must possess at least three years of professional law experience and at least one year of that experience must be specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal Service performing the following: serving as a litigator in the federal or state courts of appeals, participating in motions practice before federal or state trial courts, and/or litigating cases before other tribunals; drafting pleadings, briefs, and motions; conducting legal research on complex issues; analyzing complicated legal and technical issues and developing litigation strategies; presenting oral arguments in court; and providing legal advice on a variety of matters to attorneys and other professionals. PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. SME REVIEW Subject matter experts will review your application to determine if your resume demonstrates all required qualification criteria (professional law experience and specialized experience) in addition to meeting the following required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's). GS-14 COMPETENCIES Ability to represent an organization in a broad array of complex appellate matters. Ability to draft pleadings filed in court cases and ability to provide written guidance to decision makers on legal and litigation-related questions. Ability to handle matters that involve complicated, delicate, and novel issues and legal judgments. Ability to advise high-level officials as to the legality of proposed policies and decisions. Ability to handle matters that require an approach to complicated, delicate, and novel issues in a manner that reflects an understanding of problems which require resolution. GS-15 COMPETENCIES Ability to represent an organization in a broad array of complex appellate matters. Ability to draft pleadings filed in court cases and ability to provide written guidance to decision makers on legal and litigation-related questions. Ability to handle matters that involve complicated, delicate, and novel issues and legal judgments. Ability to advise high-level officials as to the legality of proposed policies and decisions. Ability to handle matters that require an approach to complicated, delicate, and novel issues in a manner that reflects an understanding of problems which require resolution. Abliity to prepare legal memoranda advising on the status of litigation, as well as on the significance of judicial decisions in cases. If you are deemed to be qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration. Alternatively, if your application is not deemed as qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will not be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration.

Requirements

Please note your resume must thoroughly support your responses to the vacancy questions. Your resume is an integral part of the process for determining if you meet the basic qualifications of the position and determining if you are to be among the best qualified. SF-50 Required: ALL FCC EMPLOYEES AND CURRENT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade. If an SF-50 is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible. To request a copy of your SF-50 please send an email to [email protected]

Education

Refer to Educational requirements outlined within the "Qualifications" section.

How to apply

To apply to this announcement go to the website: https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?a=FC00&k=Federal%20Communications%20Commission As outlined in the "Required Documents Details" section of the announcement, resumes must meet be no longer than two pages in length and must meet the resume formatting requirements. Your application, including resume, all supplemental documents, registration information and answers to job specific questions must be received no later than midnight U.S. Eastern time of the closing date. For more information on applying federal jobs, please check this webpage: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/process If applying online poses a hardship, you may contact either the HR Specialist listed on the vacancy announcement or you may contact the Apply Government Solutions help desk (prior to the closing date of the vacancy announcement) via e-mail at [email protected] or you may reach them directly at 866-656-6831. The Apply Government Solutions Help Desk is available Monday-Friday 7:00 am to 7:00 pm EST. NOTE: To be considered for an announced vacancy in the area of consideration within which the employee is eligible to compete, the employee must apply online using the Commission's automated recruitment system. Employees must submit all necessary application materials identified in the announcement by the specified closing date. NOTE: To be considered for an announced vacancy in the area of consideration within which the employee is eligible to compete, the employee must apply online using the Commission's automated recruitment system. Employees must submit all necessary application materials identified in the announcement by the specified closing date.