Attorney - Labor Law

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.Customs and Border Protection, Office of Chief Counsel, located in:

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This position is with the Office of Associate Chief Counsel located in Baltimore, Boston, and New York. The Office of Chief Counsel is one of the Government's largest and oldest legal offices. OCC attorneys work on cutting-edge legal issues and provide critical advice across the CBP portfolio, including trade enforcement, search and seizure, immigration, and government ethics. They also represent the agency in labor and employment matters and provide litigation support to the Department of Justice.
In this position, you will become a key member of the legal team of The Office of Chief Counsel. Providing legal guidance to, and legal representation of, U.Performing legal research and applying laws, regulations, decisions, and guidance across the CBP portfolio including customs and admissibility (i.e., forced labor enforcement, collection of customs duties, taxes, and fees), border search (i.e., search of electronic devices), immigration laws (i.e., admissibility at the ports of entry), and national security and intelligence;
Providing ethics guidance and representing CBP in administrative hearings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board, Federal Labor Relations Authority, administrative law judges, and arbitrators involving matters such as employee discipline, discrimination complaints, collective bargaining agreements, and broker license revocation;
FOIA, tort/Bivens, asset forfeiture, immigration, penalty collection) brought in federal court by preparing litigation reports, affidavits, and other pleadings, and participating in eDiscovery, motion drafting, witness interviews, and mediation/settlement discussions;
Developing and delivering legal training to CBP managers and employees relating to the activities and functions of CBP (i.e., disclosure of information, search and seizure, and investigations) and legal issues involving CBP employees (i.e., Help
Citizen to apply for this position
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.
Applicant must be a graduate from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association and be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Recent law school graduates or attorneys with a year or less of licensed practice may be appointed at the GS-11 level if they meet the following additional qualifications: rank in the top 1/3 of graduating class; participation on the school's official Law Review; or, membership on a moot court team that represents their law school in inter-law school competition. Recent law school graduates must be admitted to the bar within 14 months of their appointment.
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., 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 must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 09/30/2026.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.
Relocation: Should relocation funding be available, expenses may be offered to the selectee as a lump-sum payment under CBP's Voluntary Relocation Plan test program (VRP) in lieu of any relocation benefits available under the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), 41 C.Subtitle F, Chapter 302. Any relocation expenses incurred that are greater than the VRP lump-sum payment amount will be your responsibility, and no subsequent claims for relocation expenses will be granted by CBP. The lump-sum payment, which will be made through direct deposit, will be treated as wages and, thus, will be subject to all applicable employment tax withholdings. Additional information can be found in CBP Directive 5330-026a, which is available on the CBP net Policy Page.
As a General Attorney, the full performance level is GS-14. General Attorneys are eligible for promotion to the next GS level after serving a minimum of one year at their current GS level, and at a minimum, have a "Meets Expectations" performance rating. Once a General Attorney reaches the full performance level of GS-14 and meets time in grade and performance standards, they may compete for a GS-15 position, such as senior attorney or a supervisory attorney position.
Trial/Probationary Period: You may be required to serve a trial/probationary period of 2 years.
Travel: You will be required to travel as needed for any mandatory training, and to provide legal support to or on behalf of CBP clients or to deliver training, in various field operating locations.
Veterans Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however the Office of Chief Counsel considers veteran's preference eligibility as a positive factor in the hiring process.
The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
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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