Attorney-Advisor (General)

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With an emphasis on high ethical standards, excellence in public service and the delivery of superlative advice and counsel, DOI Solicitor's Office performs the legal work for the U.S. Department of the Interior, and manages the Departmental Ethics Office and Departmental FOIA Office. With more than five hundred total employees, more than four hundred of which are licensed attorneys, the Office strives to provide sound legal services to fulfill the Department's diverse and wide-ranging mission.

Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

This position is located within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Northeast Region, Boston Field Office, located in Boston, Massachusetts.

At the full performance level GS-14 the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

• Providing legal advice and services to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service (and when called upon, any other Bureau of the Department of the Interior) pertaining to all relevant federal laws, regulations, and policies, including but not limited to the Refuge Administration Act, Endangered Species Act, National Park Service Organic Act and Federal Acquisition Regulations. Duties may include assisting the Department of Justice in judicial litigation. The Boston Field Office is a general service legal office meeting the legal needs of its agency clients across a 13 state region, and attorneys may work on any legal matter of concern to its clients within that region (excluding employment law matters, federal tort claims act matters, and natural resource damage claims).
• Performing legal research concerning novel and complex issues, reviewing documents for the Regional Solicitor or Assistant Regional Solicitor and for DOI agencies, drafting legal opinions, providing formal and informal advice to DOI agencies, and often drafting agency decisions;
• Drafting litigation reports to guide the Department of Justice (DOJ) and assisting DOJ in litigation, including working in close coordination with DOJ attorneys representing the Secretary of the Interior and the various bureaus of the Department in federal courts;
• The primary areas of practice for this position are anticipated to be related to real property, agreements and contracts, environmental laws and compliance (ESA, NEPA), administrative law, historic preservation, and the body of law governing the management of the National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System.

Salary Information: First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.
GS-12: $101,375 (step 1) - $131,790 (step 10) per annum.

GS-13: $120,548 (step 1) - $156,715 (step 10) per annum.

GS-14: $142,452 (step 1) - $185,193 (step 10) per annum.

Basic Qualification Requirements
Applicants must be law school graduates with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND must be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

- To qualify for a GS-12 applicants must possess at least 2-years of professional legal experience following law school graduation;
- To qualify for a GS-13 applicants must possess at least 3-years of professional legal experience following law school graduation;
- To qualify for a GS-14 applicants must possess at least 4.5-years of professional legal experience following law school graduation;

For any of the grades indicated above you can substitute one year of experience with any of the following:
- have a second professional law degree; OR
- meet any of the criteria indicated below:
1. academic standing in top one-third of law school graduating class;
2. graduation with academic honors;
3. significant participation on the law school's law review;
4. significant participation in the law school's moot court competition;
5. significant participation in a clinical legal aid program;
6. significant summer law office clerk experience; or
7. other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

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.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website:https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.