Trial Attorney

This position is located at Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel.

Qualifications:

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements: Applicants MUST:

(1) be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B. or J.D.;
(2) be a current member of a bar with a valid license to practice law in a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(3) meet all specialized experience requirements as described in the vacancy announcement.

AND

Requirements for meeting the GS-12 Education:

First professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.), plus two (2) years of professional legal experience at least one of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 in the federal service. OR

Second professional law degree (LL.M.), plus one (1) year specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11. OR

Superior law student work (academic standing in the upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the schools official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus one (1) year of specialized experience which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

AND

In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the Specialized Experience at the GS-12.

Specialized Experience for the GS-12, you must have one year (full 52 weeks) of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position is defined as:

• Experience as an attorney responsible for litigating or assisting in litigation before Federal or State courts or administrative forums; OR
• Applying Federal laws and practice related to all types of litigation, including affirmative and defensive litigation matters, personnel law matters, ethics opinions and advice, fair housing enforcement or procurement, OR
• Representing clients in adversarial proceedings, including hearings before Federal or State courts or administrative forums; OR
• Interpreting federal, state or local statutes, conducting legal research and preparing pleadings, including briefs, motions, memoranda of law, legal opinions or other legal writings and preparing, defending or conducting discovery; OR
• Interacting directly with clients and government officials at the Headquarters, Regional and Field level, United States Attorneys, members of the private bar, as well as the public.

Requirements for meeting the GS-13 Education:

First professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.), plus three (3) years of professional legal experience one of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12. OR

Second professional law degree (LL.M.), plus two (2) years of professional legal experience at least one year of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12. OR

Superior law student work (academic standing in the upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the schools official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one year of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to GS-12.

AND

In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the Specialized Experience at the GS-13.

Specialized Experience for the GS-13, you must have one year (full 52 weeks) of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position is defined as:

• Experience as an attorney responsible for litigating or assisting in litigation before Federal or State courts or administrative forums; OR
• Applying Federal laws and practice related to all types of litigation, including affirmative and defensive litigation matters, personnel law matters, ethics opinions and advice, fair housing enforcement or procurement, OR
• Representing clients in adversarial proceedings, including hearings before Federal or State courts or administrative forums; OR
• Interpreting federal, state or local statutes, conducting legal research and preparing pleadings, including briefs, motions, memoranda of law, legal opinions or other legal writings and preparing, defending or conducting discovery; OR
• Interacting directly with clients and government officials at the Headquarters, Regional and Field level, United States Attorneys, members of the private bar, as well as the public.

Requirements for meeting the GS-14 Education:

First professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.), plus four (4) years of professional legal experience at least one of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13. OR

Second professional law degree (LL.M.), plus three (3) years of professional legal experience at least one year of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 OR

Superior law student work (academic standing in the upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the schools official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one year of which must be at a level of difficulty comparable to GS-13.

In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the Specialized Experience at the GS-14.

Specialized Experience for the GS-14, you must have one year (full 52 weeks) of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position is defined as:

• Experience as an attorney responsible for litigating or assisting in litigation before Federal or State courts or administrative forums; OR
• Applying Federal laws and practice related to all types of litigation, including affirmative and defensive litigation matters, personnel law matters, ethics opinions and advice, fair housing enforcement or procurement, OR
• Representing clients in adversarial proceedings, including hearings before Federal or State courts or administrative forums; OR
• Interpreting federal, state or local statutes, conducting legal research and preparing pleadings, including briefs, motions, memoranda of law, legal opinions or other legal writings and preparing, defending or conducting discovery; OR
• Interacting directly with clients and government officials at the Headquarters, Regional and Field level, United States Attorneys, members of the private bar, as well as the public.

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.

Responsibilities:

HUD's Mission
The mission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is to foster strong communities by supporting access to quality, affordable housing, expanding the housing supply, and unlocking homeownership opportunities for the American people. The Department is committed to furthering the promise of self-sufficiency in every American while promoting economic development to revitalize rural, tribal, and urban communities across the country.

This position is located in the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Legal Service Center. OGC is the chief legal office of the Department, the principal legal adviser to the Secretary and staff of HUD, and the head of the Departmental Enforcement Center. OGC provides legal opinions, advice, and services with respect to all Departmental programs and activities, and assists in the development of HUD programs and policies. OGC also provides functional legal counsel on defensive and affirmative litigation and the development of legislation and regulations.

The following are the duties of this position at the GS-14. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As a Trial Attorney, you will:

• Provide legal counsel, review, and assistance regarding all types of litigation, including both affirmative and defensive litigation.
• Advise and counsel on a variety of complex litigation with respect to all programs within the jurisdiction.
• Provide guidance with respect to affirmative and defensive litigation matters, personnel law matters, ethics opinions and advice, fair housing enforcement and other enforcement activities, and procurement.

Salary : $89,508