Attorney Advisor (Admin Law)

The U.S. International Trade Commission is an independent Federal agency that provides the President and Congress with high-quality analysis and technical support on international trade, tariff and competitiveness issues; investigates and makes determinations in proceedings involving imports claimed to injure a domestic industry or violate U.S. intellectual property rights; and maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. All applicants must possess a first professional law degree: J.D. or LL.B from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association Law School, or equivalent training. Equivalent training is training permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at a law school. To be acceptable, this training must be of the kind and nature required by the state in which the bar exam is taken. A copy of your transcript(s) from Law school and undergraduate are required to show proof that you meet these requirement. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for more specific information.

Submit a copy of your law school and undergraduate transcript(s) or list of courses with credit hours, major(s) and grade-point average or class ranking. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials: https://naces.org/members/ The ideal candidate would possess experience in Federal Information Law, including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) processing and FOIA appeals, as well as conducting legal reviews related to the Privacy Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and the Government in the Sunshine Act.

As an Attorney-Advisor for Administrative Law, you would provide:

(1) Oral and written legal advice and legal-sufficiency reviews for the management officials on a wide variety of administrative-law matters that are generally applicable to Executive Branch agencies, including interpretation and application of statutes, executive orders, regulations, guidance, and precedent in the following areas:

(1a) Federal information law, including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and FOIA appeals, the Privacy Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act; and
(1b) Rulemaking; external reporting requirements.

(2) Development and legal-sufficiency review of agency internal rules (e.g., policy directives, handbooks, forms); identification of agency interests, legal risks and liabilities, and other issues relevant to advice requests; the provision of sound and thorough legal research; and the ability to timely and effectively respond to complex legal questions in a clear and concise manner.

(2a) Advice on the Commission's organic statute as it relates to the Commission's structure, the Chair or Vice Chair's authority, the Commissioners' terms of office, and other related administrative matters;
(2b) Advice on procedural aspects of new, existing, or revised programmatic statutes that the Commission administers; and
(2c) Identify and assess the impact of new government-wide mandates or quickly evolving situations, such as making adjustments to work priorities to timely address them.

You will work under the supervision of the Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Law. Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must have the general and specialized experience outlined below which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

To be hired as an Attorney Advisor (Admin Law), you must:

• possess at least a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND
• currently be a member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, for the GS-15: applicants must have at least five years of experience which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. This experience must consist of the following: one year of specialized experience which demonstrates the engagement of general law practices; or experience and knowledge of legal theories, or principles, methodologies, and practices of the application of legal skills in a field closely related to the duties to be filled AND at least four (4) years of specific experience defined as professional legal experience in areas such as: federal information law (including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Privacy Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act); rulemaking; and external reporting requirements.

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.