U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY ADVISORY OFFICE EXPERIENCED ATTORNEY/GS-14 or GS-15 ANNOUNCEMENT: PRAO-ATY-0609

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY ADVISORY OFFICE
EXPERIENCED ATTORNEY/GS-14 or GS-15
ANNOUNCEMENT: PRAO-ATY-0609

About the Office: The United States Department of Justice, Professional Responsibility Advisory Office (PRAO), is seeking an experienced attorney. PRAO is responsible for providing advice to Department attorneys, on how to perform their duties in compliance with the applicable rules of professional conduct. It also conducts training for Department attorneys and serves as a liaison with state and federal bar associations. Additionally, PRAO coordinates with litigating components of the Department to defend attorneys in any disciplinary or other hearing, where it is alleged that they have failed to meet their professional responsibility obligations.

Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The incumbent of this position will:

- provide responses to requests for advice, assistance or information from Department of Justice attorneys on issues relating to the rules of professional conduct;

- identify and resolve legal and factual issues;

- conduct research and draft legal memoranda concerning the application of the rules of professional conduct to the practice of law by Department of Justice lawyers;

- prepare training materials and conduct training; and

- develop, coordinate and execute special projects or studies as assigned by PRAO’s Director.
Qualifications: Required qualifications: Candidate must possess a J.D. degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of a state, territory, or the District of Columbia, and have relevant post-J.D. legal experience. No expertise in the rules of professional conduct is required.

Preferred qualifications: Ten years of legal experience and/or experience litigating civil or criminal cases. Experience in handling professional responsibility issues.

Travel: Limited travel to conduct training for one to two days at a time may be required.

Salary Information: Salary and grade level determinations are made based on the number of years of qualifying experience and current salary level. The possible salary range for this position is GS-14 or GS-15.

Location: Washington, DC

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.

Submission Process and Deadline Date: Interested candidates should forward a cover letter (highlighting relevant experience), writing sample, references and resume or Optional Form 612 (OF-612 Application for Federal Employment) to:

Maria McClam
U. S. Department of Justice
Professional Responsibility Advisory Office
1425 New York Ave., NW, Ste 12000
Washington, D.C. 20530

Alternatively, applications can be emailed to maria.mcclam@usdoj.gov. No telephone calls please. Please reference announcement PRAO-ATY-0609 in your cover letter. This position is open until filled, but no later than August 28, 2009.

Internet Sites: For more information about PRAO, please visit our Web page at: http://www.usdoj.gov/prao/.

This and selected other legal position announcements may be found on the Internet at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm and http://dojnet.doj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.php.

Department Policies: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/ Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. Citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Dual citizens of the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans’ preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans’ preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans’ preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the “point” system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/sf0015.pdf for a copy of SF-15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF-15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated within the last 12 months except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).