Monday, April 05, 2021

Trial Attorney

 Criminal Division (CRM)

Office of International Affairs
Attorney
Washington, DC 20530
United States
21-CRM-OIA-042
About the Office: 

The Office of International Affairs (OIA) works to keep Americans safe at home and abroad by ensuring that criminals are held accountable for their actions. OIA returns fugitives to face justice, transfers sentenced persons to serve their sentences in their home countries, and obtains essential evidence for criminal investigations and prosecutions worldwide by working with domestic partners and foreign counterparts to facilitate the cooperation necessary to enforce the law, advance public safety, and achieve justice. OIA’s five principal work streams are:

  • Extradition and Return of Fugitives
  • International Prisoner Transfer
  • International Evidence Gathering
  • Legal Advice to DOJ Leadership & Prosecutors
  • Multilateral Work and Negotiation of Criminal Law Enforcement Treaties
Job Description: 

OIA trial attorneys develop positive working relationships with foreign counterparts as well as familiarity with relevant foreign laws and procedures, both of which are critical to support the Office’s operational and policy work. They prepare legally sufficient U.S. requests for extradition of fugitives and the gathering of evidence located abroad; analyze foreign requests seeking fugitives or evidence located in the United States, ensuring that such requests comply with treaty requirements and meet U.S. legal standards, including appropriate constitutional protections; prepare and file legal pleadings in court in support of legally sufficient foreign requests in order to obtain requisite orders from U.S. courts; and they adjudicate applications for transfer from sentenced persons who wish to complete their terms of incarceration in their home countries. Some attorneys may participate in litigation, including by appearing in court in support of foreign requests for extradition of fugitives located in the United States. OIA attorneys work on challenging issues in novel or evolving areas of law and policy, such as the areas of privacy and transnational access to digital data.

Responsibilities include handling long-lived, high-volume casework involving international extradition, mutual legal assistance (MLA) and international prisoner transfer requests; conducting treaty negotiations, as these arise, and treaty implementation consultations; preparing briefing materials for the Attorney General and other Department principals; representing the Department on international criminal matters in multilateral fora and providing advice on other transnational criminal law enforcement matters. These responsibilities require regular consultation and coordination with federal, state, and local prosecutors and law enforcement personnel, various Department of Justice components, the State Department, and other federal agencies, as well as foreign authorities. Please note: the responsibilities listed are at the full promotion potential of the position.

Qualifications: 

Required Qualifications: Interested applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing.

Grade Specific Qualifications:

  • To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one and a half (1.5) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-12 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include:performing basic legal analysis and formulating recommendations for senior managers, composing legal memoranda, reports, and position papers on legislative history, laws, regulations, and court opinions in support of civil or criminal litigation.
  • To qualify at the GS-14 grade level, applicants must have at least two and a half (2.5) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-13 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: performing legal analysis and formulating recommendations to senior managers; composing pleadings, briefs, and other court documents involving legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; and conducting civil or criminal litigation.
  • To qualify at the GS-15 grade level, applicants must have at least four (4) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: independently performing legal analysis; composing pleadings, briefs and other court documents involving unique and/or difficult legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; conducting highly complex civil or criminal litigation; and leading paralegals and support staff.

 

Preferred Qualifications: Your qualifications will be further evaluated based on the following competencies:

  • Experience in conducting investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses;
  • Handling of international extradition and mutual legal assistance cases or other aspects of international criminal practice; and
  • Proficiency in at least one foreign language, preferably Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese.
Salary: 
The salary range for this position is $103,690 - $172,500 per annum, which includes locality pay. See OPM's Web page at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2021/DCB.pdf.
Travel: 
Occasional international and domestic travel, sometimes on short notice, may be required.
Application Process: 

The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.

Please submit your application through USAJOBS. The list of required documents can be found in the USAJobs announcement.

  1. If you do not already have an account, please create a USAjobs account before applying Create an Account. You will be able to upload your resume and supporting documents and complete your profile prior to applying.
  2. Once you have an account, apply to the USAjobs vacancy:

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Application Deadline: 
Monday, April 19, 2021
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Number of Positions: 
Few
Updated April 5, 2021

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Department Policies

Equal Employment Opportunity:  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, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected genetic information, pregnancy, status as a parent, or any other nonmerit-based factor.  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. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.

Reasonable Accommodations:  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.

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities:  The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements.  Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority.  Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.   

Suitability and Citizenship:  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. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.

Veterans:  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, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that 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).

 

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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.

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