ATTORNEY-ADVISER (GENERAL)

Summary

The primary purpose of this position is: Serve as a developmental Attorney-Adviser (General), supporting the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA), providing legal advice and counsel, as needed, in administrative law, claims, environmental law, contract law, labor law, and international law to the 1st Special Operations Wing and tenant units; to represent Department of the Air Force (DAF) interests in various forums and support the defense of the DAF in litigation.

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Duties

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GS-11:

• Based on advice from senior attorneys and/or the Judge Advocate, performs developmental assignments including: the assessment and evaluation of legal compliance, legal sufficiency, and/or advisability, local policies and practices, proposed actions and decisions, official conduct and authority, commercial transactions, draft documents and publications, investigations, responses to inquiries, public statements, plans, and initiatives; the evaluation of claims by and against the government, assessing legal risk, and recommending disposition.
• Performs recurring assignments. Independently performs work assignments which gradually increase in difficulty and complexity. Incumbent determines the practices and procedures to use in accomplishing conventional tasks, and interprets and adapts guidelines in order to resolve procedural or factual issues.
• Carries out special projects and participates in special initiatives and studies. Performs special assignments in support of the organization; e.g., researching policy/precedent and comparing to new or modified guidelines to assess impact; analyzing and providing substantive evaluation of data affecting program operations; developing reports and briefings outlining study findings and recommendations.
• Prepares written correspondence and other documentation. Drafts or prepares a variety of documents in support of the SJA using software such as word processing, spreadsheets, etc., to facilitate work.

GS-12 :

• Advises the 1st Special Operations Wing, Commander, as well as subordinate and tenant unit commanders and managers, on a host of general law matters. Assesses and evaluates for legal compliance, legal sufficiency, and/or advisability, local policies and practices, proposed actions and decisions, official conduct and authority, commercial transactions, draft documents and publications, investigations, responses to inquiries, public statements, plans, and initiatives.
• Prepares for and represents the DAF/installation and its legal interests in correspondence, meetings, negotiations, and judicial and administrative hearings, involving federal, state, and local (and overseas, foreign) officials, parties with adverse interests, and commercial entities.
• Provides legal assistance to active duty military, dependents, eligible Department of Defense (DoD) civilians, retirees, and other DoD cardholders, consistent with Air Force Instructions (AFIs) and legal office policy.

GS-13 :

• As a senior attorney, advises the 1st Special Operations Wing Commander, as well as subordinate and tenant unit commanders and managers, on a host of general law matters. Assesses and evaluates for legal compliance, legal sufficiency, and/or advisability, local policies and practices, proposed actions and decisions, official conduct and authority, commercial transactions, draft documents and publications, investigations, responses to inquiries, public statements, plans, and initiatives.
• For the most complex installation legal issues, prepares for and represents the DAF/installation and its legal interests in correspondence, meetings, negotiations, and judicial and administrative hearings, involving federal, state, and local (and overseas, foreign) officials, parties with adverse interests, and commercial entities.
• Provides legal assistance to active duty military, dependents, eligible Department of Defense (DoD) civilians, retirees, and other DoD cardholders, consistent with Air Force Instructions (AFIs) and legal office policy. In line with professional responsibility standards, counsels clients on various personal civil legal matters, such as marriage, divorce, paternity, child support, child custody, consumer law, real property or automobile purchase, sale, or lease, bankruptcy, financing, immigration, citizenship, redress for personal injury, estate planning, probate, and taxes

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required
• If authorized, PCS will be paid IAW JTR and AF Regulations. If receiving an authorized PCS, you may be subject to completing/signing a CONUS agreement. More information on PCS requirements, may be found at:
• Males must be registered for Selective Service, see
• Attorney appointments are subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Candidates are not required to have active duty service or veterans' preference to be referred and considered. All qualified candidates who meet the recruitment assessment criteria will be referred to the selecting official.
• Depending on the type of position (competitive/excepted) you are selected for, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period.
• Upon completion of your probationary/trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest
• Employee must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, and be currently licensed as an attorney, in active (or equivalent) status and in good standing, with the bar of a U.S. state, territory, or commonwealth
• Employee must adhere to the Air Force Rules of Professional Conduct
• Employee must be able to obtain and maintain an appropriate security clearance
• Employee may be required to work overtime
• Employee may be required to travel for temporary duty away from home station
• Employee may be required to file an Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Form 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, upon appointment and annually thereafter
• Mobility is a condition of employment. The employee must sign an Air Force-wide mobility agreement
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a secret security clearance

Qualifications

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:

• You MUST have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD).
• In addition, at the time of application, you must provide proof, dated within four months of application, of "active" status with a bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. On-line information is allowed as long as it shows that you are in "active" status.

GS 11 : Specialized Experience: In addition to the basic requirement, you must have professional legal experience in excess of one (1) year that commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position; or the second professional law degree (Master of Laws [LL.M.]), provided it required at least one full academic year of graduate study; or Superior law student work or activities, as demonstrated by one of the following:

• Academic standing in the upper third of the Attorney's law school graduating class;
• Work or achievement of significance on one of the Attorney's law school's official law reviews or journals;
• Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school (e.g., membership in the Order of the Coif, winning a moot court competition, or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools);
• Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program, as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation;
• Significant summer law office clerk experience; or
• Other evidence of clearly superior accomplishment or achievement

GS 12 : Specialized Experience : In addition to the basic requirement, you must have professional legal experience in excess of two (2) years that commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position at equivalent to the GS-11 level or National Security Personnel System (YA-02) level, or The second professional law degree (LL.M.), plus one year of professional legal experience at the GS-11 level or National Security Personnel System YA2 level.

GS 13 : Specialized Experience: In addition to the basic requirement, you must have professional legal experience in excess of two (2) years that commensurate with the position's duties and responsibilities.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

GS-11/GS-12/GS-13 :

1. Knowledge of applicable law pertaining to the specialized areas of legal practice, as determined by the SJA, in order to provide legal advice and counsel to command and management and represent AF interests.

2. Sufficient knowledge of federal, state, and local law, as it impacts the private individual, to provide personal legal assistance to eligible beneficiaries across the typical range of the AF legal assistance practice.

3. Skill in recognizing and analyzing key legal issues in a factual situation and applying well-reasoned analysis to reach clear, concise conclusions.

4. Ability to research legal issues, analyze complex factual situations in light of general legal principles and the results of research, and prepare legal opinions.

5. Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse group of individuals, in and outside the legal profession, both orally and in writing, in both formal and informal settings.

6. Ability to prepare cases for trial and/or try cases before a court, administrative body, or an official having quasi-judicial power.

At the time of application, you must provide proof, dated within four months of application, of "active" status and in good standing with a bar of the highest court of a State, US commonwealth, US territory, or the District of Columbia. On-line information is allowed as long as it shows that you are in "active" status and dated within four months of application.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Experience or training in researching, evaluating, and implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and related tools for Legal Office workflows-including document review, drafting, legal research, verification, risk detection, and error reduction is highly desired.

Education

Must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, and be currently licensed as an attorney, in active (or equivalent) status and in good standing, with the bar of a U.S. state, territory, or commonwealth. The attorney must maintain such bar membership in at least one jurisdiction during the entire course of employment with the Air Force.

Additional information

Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click here for more information.

Current Federal Civilian employees may apply for temporary and term positions and if selected, a break in service may be required prior to appointment to the position.

Writing Example: Prior to receiving an offer, you will be asked to provide a writing sample demonstrating your legal analytical skills.

Temporary and Term Appointments: If you are selected for a temporary or term position, your appointment may be extended to the maximum period allowed by law without further competition. NOTE: Current federal civilian employees may apply for this position and if selected, a break in service of at least 3 days may be required prior to appointment to this position.

120-Day Register: This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.

Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.

Incentives: Recruitment and/or retention incentives may or may not be used.

Disabled veteran leave is available to a Federal employee hired on/after 5 Nov 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. For more information, click here.

If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.