Supervisory Trial Attorney (RECA)

Overview Torts Branch-CSTL/Radiation & Exposure Compensation Act Attorney Appointment Type Attorney Permanent Job ID

AT-12961257-26-BLC

Location: 1100 L Street, NW Location: 1100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 - United States Application Deadline: About the Office Job Description The Civil Division seeks a few Supervisory Trial Attorneys (Assistant Directors) to serve on the Torts Branch, Constitutional and Specialized Torts Litigation section, Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) team. Well-qualified candidates may be eligible for a signing bonus of up to $25,000. The Civil Division's Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Program administers claims for benefits filed under RECA as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 42 USC § 2210 note. This unique statute provides partial restitution to individuals who contracted certain illnesses as a result of exposure to radiation while extracting uranium ore for defense related purposes, or as a result of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War. On July 4, 2025, the Act was reauthorized and expanded and now covers more areas of the country and individual workers and adds compensation for injuries presumptively connected to the Manhattan Project. As an Assistant Director you will be responsible for supervising Program attorneys and, when assigned, support personnel, including Claims Analysts, Program Specialists, and other professionals. The incumbent is also responsible for overseeing work carried out by contract employees. The Assistant Director is responsible for ensuring claims are adjudicated consistent with statutory requirements and strict time frames; supervising development of novel workflows to address the high volume of matters under RECA; developing regulatory and sub-regulatory approaches that are consistent with the statute and positions of Department leadership; and collaborating with other Civil Division, Department, and Executive Branch offices to achieve the RECA Program's objectives under the supervision of the Director and Deputy Director. The incumbent is also responsible for personally handling and managing exceptionally complex RECA claims, including claims that may result in district-court litigation. Such matters may include cases in which the Assistant Director must coordinate and lead attorney teams comprised of personnel across multiple Division and Department offices. The Assistant Director is recognized as possessing outstanding administrative, operational, and litigative skills and is regarded as an expert in the assigned program area. Claims and related cases often involve significant legal problems; the facts are complex, voluminous, or very difficult to develop and prove, and may involve precedential cases that touch on legal issues that are often difficult to establish or on novel matters of policy. Generally, significant amounts of money or vital legal precedents are at stake. Qualifications Interested applicants must possess a J.D., or equivalent, degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing. To qualify at the

GS-15

grade level, applicants must possess at least four (4) years of post-J.D. legal experience. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Preferred qualifications: Applicants with proven advocacy and legal writing skills preferred. Experience drafting and arguing motions, handling discovery, taking, and defending depositions, developing expert witness testimony, and trying cases are highly desirable. Trial Period Statement As a condition of employment for accepting this position in accordance with section 11.5 of Executive Order 14284, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Application Process To apply for this position, you must complete the online application questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on June 16, 2026, to receive consideration. Instructions and the link to apply are below: Click "Apply Online" to get started. If you're not logged in to your USAJOBS account, you will need to login. If you don't have an account, please create one. You will be prompted to select one of your stored (or uploaded) resumes, and any supporting documents you have uploaded to USAJOBS. If you have not uploaded these documents, you can do so later before submitting your application. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, you will be asked to submit your demographic information (if you have provided this in your profile). Submission is optional and anonymous. You'll be asked to confirm your choices and certify the accuracy of your information before you're able to continue to the Application Manager system. Until you see the blue border and DOJ logo, you are still on USAJOBS. You'll see a folder animation just before you leave USAJOBS. Once you reach DOJ's Application Manager system, you'll be asked to verify the information you transmitted from USAJOBS. You will then respond to the application assessment questionnaires and indicate your eligibility options. After responding to the questionnaires, you will have the opportunity to attach the documents you brought over from USAJOBS OR upload documents directly from your computer or device. If you opt to upload a document directly, click the "Upload" button and select the document on your device, then wait for the upload to finish. Repeat as needed. Documents must be less than 3 MB each and should be in a compatible file format. Once all your documents are uploaded, you must assign the uploads to the appropriate document category. You may attach more than one document to each category. Click the drop-down menu for a document category, and select one of the available options in the menu. The document will be listed under this category. You can click the drop-down again to add other documents, as needed. You can have up to 15 document assignments. Once you've uploaded and assigned all your documents to an appropriate document type, you can proceed to the final verification step, and click Submit. If you have correctly submitted your application, you will receive an automated e-mail notification within 30-60 minutes. Be sure to review the announcement fully to make sure that your application contains everything that is required. If you need help with the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help Site (for everything on the USAJOBS-side), or the Application Manager Help Site (for everything on the DOJ-side). Regrettably, the Department of Justice cannot assist you with USAJOBS account issues. If you contact us for assistance and the problem is related to your USAJOBS account, we will have to direct you to USAJOBS to remedy the issue. Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances. GS-15 $169,279.00 to $197,200.00 Per Year Number of Positions Few Travel Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position. Relocation Expenses Not Authorized This and othervacancy announcements can be found underAttorney Vacancies andVolunteer Legal Internships . The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. #J-18808-Ljbffr The United States Department of Justice