Attorney-Advisor (Labor)

The Office of General Counsel DeCA has a robust and varied legal practice in support of DeCA and its mission. Our attorneys provide legal advice counsel and representation in substantive areas including federal labor and employment law commercial law fiscal law procurement law construction law environmental law government standards of conduct and ethics administrative law and issues arising under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act. Our attorneys represent DeCA before various administrative bodies and provide litigation support to U.S. Attorney Offices for matters pending in Federal courts.

As an Assistant General Counsel for Personnel Law the incumbent reports to the Deputy General Counsel for Personnel Law and assists in discharging the responsibility of DeCA OGC to provide legal advice counsel and representation in all aspects of federal employment law including but not limited to employee appointment classification compensation benefits conduct performance termination of employment labor management relations whistleblower protection and equal employment opportunity. The incumbent independently performs in-depth legal research and analysis as well as writing briefs legal memoranda and other documents. The incumbent represents the agency before third parties including but not limited to the Merit Systems Protection Board the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Office of Special Counsel and is responsible for the investigation preparation and presentation of the agencys positions and defenses before such tribunals.
The incumbent addresses difficult and novel legal policy questions where frequently there is an absence of clearly applicable precedents. The incumbent provides support to the Department of Justice in matters litigated in Federal courts. The incumbent provides legal advice in the areas of the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act. The incumbent may perform the duties of the Deputy General Counsel for Personnel Law in his/her absence and other duties as assigned.

This position is in the Excepted Service.

The Defense Commissary Agency is an Equal Employment Opportunity Agency.

Notice of Veterans Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however the Department of Defense considers veterans preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documents (e.g. DD Form 214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) to their submissions. Although the point-preference system is not used applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit an SF 15 Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. (SF15 which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at .) If two of more applicants for an attorney position are determined to be equally best qualified for the position but one of the applicants is a preference eligible veteran the preference eligible veteran has preference over the non-preference eligible applicant.


TRAVEL REQUIRED

- Occasional Travel
- Business travel is required less than 20% of the time

RELOCATION EXPENSES

- Recruitment/relocation incentives may be authorized.
- Permanent Change of Stations (PCS) may be authorized.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

- U.S. Citizenship is Required
- Direct Deposit of Pay is Required
- Tour of Duty: Full Time
- Bargaining Unit: No
- FLSA: Exempt
- License/Certification: Bar Certificate of Good Standing reflecting Active Status


Read the entire announcement before starting the application process.

• Be a U.S. citizen or national. Applicants with a Permanent Resident Card are authorized to live and work in the U.S. but are not eligible for employment in positions requiring U.S. citizenship. If selected proof of citizenship is required.
• Position may be subject to occasional overtime.
• Occasional business travel is required.
• License/Certification: Bar Certificate of Good Standing reflecting Active Status.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• Appointment is subject to a favorable suitability or fitness outcome as determined by a completed background investigation. New federal employees will be fingerprinted.
• Males born aftermust be registered with or exempt from Selective Service.
• Meet minimum age requirement. See the Additional Information.
• May be subject to a probationary/trial period.

You must meet the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) qualifications for series 0905 and additional requirements by the announcement closing date. Your resume (and/or transcript if necessary) must clearly show that you have the qualifications described below. See Required Documents for more information.

• Qualification requirements for Attorney positions can be found in DoW Instruction 1442.02 Personnel Actions Involving Civilian Attorneys.

• The minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration.

• Applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD) from that institution.

• Bar Membership: An applicant must currently be an active member of the bar of the highest court of a State U.S. commonwealth U.S. territory or the District of Columbia.

• Applicant must have professional legal experience in excess of 3 years that is commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.