Trial Attorney (Environmental Torts Litigation)

Trial Attorney (Environmental Torts Litigation) Location: 1100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 - United States Application Deadline: Friday, July 10, 2026 About the Office The Environmental Torts Litigation Section seeks attorneys to defend the United States, Executive Office of the President, and agencies in cases challenging the legality of policies and actions brought in federal district courts. Work touches on many areas of government. Well-qualified candidates may be eligible for a signing bonus of up to $25,000 , with priority given to applicants in D.C., Raleigh, San Francisco, Dallas , and NYC . Strong applicants from any location are encouraged to apply. Job Description The Environmental Torts Section, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for the defense of matters in complex, high stakes civil litigation in federal courts nationwide. Its attorneys directly handle all aspects of wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage cases that often involve hundreds, even thousands, of plaintiffs. The cases typically stem from alleged exposure to environmental contaminants, such as biological agents, chemicals, and other substances. They also involve complex issues of causation, novel issues of federal and state law, and numerous expert witnesses. Given its unique expertise, the section has primary litigation responsibility for all suits brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act where the alleged injuries/damages are attributed to some form of an environmental contaminant. Many of the section's cases are litigated as mass torts or multidistrict litigation matters. Mass tort cases being litigated by the section relate to: alleged damage to water systems and personal injury claims due to the military's use of per-fluorinated compounds in firefighting; personal injury claims stemming from EPA's oversight of state and local entities involved in the Flint water crisis; damage and personal injury claims related to a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; damages alleged to be caused by a jet fuel leak from the Navy's underground Red Hill Bulk Storage Facility near Pearl Harbor, HI; and damages from alleged contamination and remediation at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Handling complex jurisdictional questions, devising creative case-management solutions, and analyzing overlapping issues of history, law, and science are often the norm. 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. This is not a remote position. Well-qualified candidates may be considered for placement at any Department duty location nationwide, subject to management approval and agency needs. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Preferred qualifications : Applicants should have experience in mass tort or multidistrict litigation, environmental law or toxic tort background, negotiation, federal tort claims act knowledge, expert witness management, and complex federal court litigation. 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 This position is location negotiable; however, spaces are limited and priority is being given to Washington, D.C., Raleigh, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York City locations. You will be prompted to select your preferred location, and if it is not listed, you will have the opportunity to enter your preferred work location's city and state in a text box. 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 July 10, 2026, to receive consideration. Instructions and 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 $147,945.00 to $197,200.00 Per Year Salary will be set based on the selectee\'s duty location and the applicable locality pay rate at the time of appointment. Number of Positions Many Travel Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position. Relocation Expenses Not Authorized This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer 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