Law Clerk

You will:

• Conduct legal research and analysis including interpreting and applying statutes rules and regulations for one or more Environmental Appeals Judges and Senior Attorney-Advisers.
• Prepare legal documents outlining factual and legal issues for evaluation and considerations by one or more Environmental Appeals Judges and/or Senior Attorney-Advisers.
• Apply legal reasoning to obtain additional facts and/or legal references pertinent to the case.
• Review legal documents for accuracy of information and legal citations and prepare and provide support for oral argument and analysis of the hearing records as directed by the Environmental Appeals Judges and/or Senior Attorney Advisers.

#LI-Onsite

You must be a U.S. citizen.

If you are selected you may be required to complete a trial period (two years if you are not a preference eligible; one year if you are a preference eligible).

This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

REAL ID requirements became effective on 05/07/25. If you are selected for this position and plan to use your drivers license or identification card during the onboarding process (i.e. for employment eligibility verification or to obtain your EPA identification card) the document must be a REAL ID-compliant state-issued drivers license or identification card that includes the REAL ID-compliant star marking or must be an Enhanced Drivers License (EDL). You will receive information about alternative acceptable documents (e.g. passport) prior to onboarding. For more information about REAL ID see Dept. of Homeland Security and REAL ID FAQs.

If you are selected you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.

NOTE: You must meet qualification requirements including any requirements described in the Education section by the closing date of this announcement.

In addition to the educational requirements you must meet the minimum grade-specific qualifications as described below:

To qualify for the GS-11 level you must have either:
-an LL.M. degree

OR

-at least one year of post J.D. legal experience with specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level defined as reviewing legal documents to provide recommendations to senior managers; and preparing legal documents for thorough review of accuracy and completeness;

OR

-completed superior law student activities while earning a J.D. degree. Superior law student activities include:
(A) Academic standing in upper third of law school graduating class;
(B) Work or achievement of significance on law schools law review;
(C) Special high-level honors for academic excellence such as election to Order of the Coif;
(D) Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team representing the law school in competition with other law schools;
(E) Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program or significant summer law office clerk experience; or
(F) Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement as determined by the hiring office and documented in writing for the case file.

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.

*If you have part-time work experience read this: Part-Time Experience.