Attorney-Advisor (General)

Summary

You will serve as an Attorney-Advisor (General) for the Office of the Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region.

Duties

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region and the duty station is either Billings, Montana OR Lakewood, Colorado. This particular position will be assigned to the Billings Field Office and will primarily represent the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on any matters relating to BIA's Rocky Mountain Region, which covers reservations in Montana (except for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) and in Wyoming. The position may also provide representation to other Interior bureaus, primarily relating to Indian law. Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Representing the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Civilian Board of Contract Appeals cases and Interior Board of Indian Appeals cases. Advising the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act contracts. Reviewing Bureau of Indian Affairs land acquisitions and issue title opinions. Reviewing and preparing litigation reports, overseeing discovery, drafting pleadings, and reviewing Department of Justice filings in judicial litigation on matters arising out of various programs and activities for Interior's agencies. Other duties as assigned, including authoring memoranda of understanding, recommendations regarding appeal, settlement documents, and other transactional documents arising out of bureau and agency program activities. Assist on other matters assigned by the Regional Solicitor, Field Solicitor, or other supervising attorney advisor. Such assignments may include conducting legal research, analyzing and interpreting federal statutes, regulations, case law, other legal documents, and agency guidance and producing opinions and memoranda requiring a high degree of creative legal effort, judgment, and discretion, often harmonizing conflicting positions in areas with little or no precedent, while promoting goals of uniformity, simplicity, and efficiency, and providing formal and informal advice to various DOI agencies. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level. For duty station in Billings, Montana GS-13: $106,437 (Step 1) - $138,370 (Step 10) Per Annum GS-14: $125,776 (Step 1) - $163,514 (Step 10) Per Annum For duty station in Lakewood, CO GS-13: $118,675 (Step 1) - $154,280 (Step 10) Per Annum GS-14: $140,239 (Step 1) - $182,316 (Step 10) Per Annum

Qualifications

Basic Qualification Requirements Applicants must be law school graduates with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND applicants 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-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 also substitute one year of experience with any of the following: have a second professional law degree; OR meet any of the criteria indicated below; academic standing in top one-third of law school graduating class; graduation with academic honors; significant participation on the law school's law review; significant participation in the law school's moot court competition; significant participation in a clinical legal aid program; significant summer law office clerk experience; or other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement. Candidates should have excellent oral communication, writing, research and analysis skills, and the ability to work effectively with other people, and exercise sound judgment. 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.

Education

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: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification