Attorney (Investigate)

The U.S. International Trade Commission is an independent Federal agency that provides the President and Congress with high-quality analysis and technical support on international trade, tariff and competitiveness issues; investigates and makes determinations in proceedings involving imports claimed to injure a domestic industry or violate U.S. intellectual property rights; and maintains the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule.

Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must have the general and specialized experience outlined below which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

To be hired as a General Attorney (Investigate), you must:

possess at least a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND
currently be a member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, all applicants must meet the specialized experience listed below:

To qualify at the GS-14 level, applicants must have at least four (4) years of experience which consists of the following: at least one (1) year of specialized experience which demonstrates the engagement of general law practices; or experience and knowledge of legal theories, or principles, methodologies, and practices of the application of legal skills in a field closely related to the duties to be filled AND at least three (3) years of specific experience defined as specialized professional legal experience which enabled the candidate to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work relevant to the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission.

To qualify at the GS-15 level, applicants must have at least five (5) years of experience which consists of the following: one (1) year of specialized experience which demonstrates the engagement of general law practices; or experience and knowledge of legal theories, or principles, methodologies, and practices of the application of legal skills in a field closely related to the duties to be filled AND four (4) years of specific experience defined as specialized professional legal experience which enables the candidate to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work relevant to the Office of Unfair Import Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission.

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.

All applicants must possess a first professional law degree: J.D. or LL.B from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, or equivalent training. Equivalent training is training permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at a law school. To be acceptable, this training must be of the kind and nature required by the state in which the bar exam is taken. A copy of your transcript(s) is required to show proof that you meet this requirement. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for more specific information.

Submit a copy of your transcript(s) with credit hours, major(s) and grade-point average or class ranking, and date degree conferred. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials: