Total 3 job vacancies by Office of the General Counsel

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 150 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 150th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.  

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a General Attorney, GS-0905-13/14, you will be responsible for:

• Providing legal advice to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Office of Special Education Programs on the statutory and regulatory requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, including assessing legal risk and developing legally supportable strategies.
• Independently preparing written legal advice and providing oral legal advice in response to questions raised internally, and from outside of the Department, on the interpretation of applicable law, including statutes, regulations, and federal and state court cases. For example, this may include responding to questions from Congress or representing the Department of Education in an engagement with the U.S. Government Accountability Office related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
• Representing the Department in all aspects of administrative proceedings and collaborating with the Department of Justice on federal court litigation, including amicus curiae matters and the drafting and/or reviewing of briefs, motions, memoranda, or other filings.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

The duties above are at the GS-13 level. The GS-14 level will have more complexity and less supervision.

• Acting as in-house counsel in litigation of cases and appeals in Federal Civil and Bankruptcy Courts, including drafting litigation strategy memos and pleadings, interviewing witnesses, conducting depositions, and negotiating with opposing parties.
• Provides written and oral legal advice to USDA officials in connection with the day-to-day operations of their programs.
• Conducts legal research to ensure that advice provided is based upon a sound understanding of the law and facts, anticipates foreseeable consequences of advice provided, and recommends actions that are legally sound and defensible.
• Advising on commercial transaction matters involving secured property interests and other real estate issues for USDA agencies including reviewing and preparing various legal documents and advising on account servicing.
• Recommends actions to ensure that decisions made, and actions taken are practical, effective, and legally sound and defensible.
• Reviews and prepares various kinds of legal documents for general and specific use, including documents related to contracts, real property transactions, and other commercial transactions.

• Lead a team of attorneys in trade law and foreign agricultural affairs to provide legal services to Department agencies, including the Foreign Agricultural Service
• Represent the USDA in international disputes under various authorities, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and World Trade Organization agreements.
• Represent the client Agency in administrative proceedings, judicial litigation, and international negotiations, disputes, arbitrations, and represent the client Agency and USDA in interactions with other Federal agencies.
• Provide expert advice and assistance and leadership for representation of the Department with the United States Trade Representative, Department of State, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Justice, and Congressional committees.
• Independently draft legal documents including briefs, memorandums, and reports that describe and analyze complex trade and foreign agricultural affairs issues.
• Partner with USDA agencies to assess their goals and objectives and provide counsel on legal sufficiency of potential solutions.
• Lead legal teams on integrating best practices; enabling legal counsel on legal matters; providing litigation support to a variety of clients; and rendering actionable advice to senior USDA legal and non-legal leaders.
• Mentor junior attorneys in subject matter areas of practice.
• Provide training to OGC and agency client personnel in areas of practice.