The primary purpose of this position is to serve as attorney advisor to investigate, adjudicate and settle or defend complex multi-million dollar medical malpractice claims and litigation arising under a multitude of tort theories that give rise to potential United States liability worldwide under the Federal Tort Claims Act and Military Claims Act
Duties
Responsible for the independent investigation, adjudication and settlement of multi-million-dollar medical malpractice claims against the United States under the Military Claims Act (MCA) and Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Assigned the most complex, difficult, and highest value cases, with amounts at risk consistently exceeding $I million dollars. Has primary responsibility as subject matter expert in the MLFSC, with demonstrated knowledge of complex medical legal issues, statutes and regulations, such as physician privileging and the Health Care Quality Improvement Act; quality assurance and related privileges under 10 U.S.C. I 102; the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (BMTALA). Provides substantial high-quality litigation support to Department of Justice attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys in all 50 states in defense of multimillion dollar, complex and often, precedent-setting lawsuits filed in U.S District Courts against the United States arising from Air Force medical activities. Has primary responsibility to provide comment on behalf of the Air Force pertinent to all proposed tort-related legislation. Drafts section-by-section analyses of all proposed legislation. Gathers and prepares all relevant documentation and justification in support of or in opposition to proposed legislation.
Salary
Qualifications
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: You MUST have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD). In addition, at the time of application, you must provide proof, dated within four months of application, of "active" status with a bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. On-line information is allowed as long as it shows that you are in "active" status. Specialized Experience: In addition to the basic requirement: you must have professional legal experience in excess of three (3) years that commensurate with the position's duties and responsibilities. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: 1. Graduate of an accredited law school and admitted to and a member in good standing of a bar of a state or the District of Columbia and have extensive experience in tort law. Ability to lead other attorneys responsible for handling medical malpractice litigation or for providing advice on medical law topics. 2. In-depth knowledge of the FTCA, MCA, and other federal tort claims statutes as well as related statutes, regulations and case law applying or interpreting the Acts. Ability to establish work priorities and delegate tasks. 3. In-depth knowledge of health-care law topics such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), medical quality assurance, medical privileging issues, to include adverse privileging actions, medical training agreements, reproductive health issues, biomedical ethics, advance directives and end-of-life care issues as well as related statutes, regulations and case law relevant to health law topics. 4. In-depth knowledge of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and litigation techniques necessary for the defense of the Air Force in judicial forums. Ability to prepare litigation reports discussing evidence and legal issues and to propose answers to complaints, to draft pleadings, motions and other documents that are filed in Federal District Court on behalf of the United States. 5. Ability to investigate, effectively evaluate and appropriately settle or defend extremely complex, multimillion dollar medical malpractice claims. Must understand medical terminology and be able to work with medical experts. Understands structured settlement concepts and work with financial experts. 6. Tort litigation skills and ability to analyze complaints, motions, and related pleadings to determine applicable law, strengths and weaknesses of the case, courses of action to pursue, and the best possible defense of Air Force interests. Skill in effective written and oral communications. At the time of application, you must provide proof, dated within four months of application, of "active" status and in good standing with a bar of the highest court of a State, US commonwealth, US territory, or the District of Columbia. On-line information is allowed as long as it shows that you are in "active" status and dated within four months of application. PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
Must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, and be currently licensed as an attorney, in active (or equivalent) status and in good standing, with the bar of a U.S. state, territory, or commonwealth. The attorney must maintain such bar membership in at least one jurisdiction during the entire course of employment with the Air Force.
Required Documents
The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming. Click here to view the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide and the required documents you must submit to substantiate the eligibilities you are claiming. Online Application: Questionnaire Resume: For qualification determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week (if part-time) and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Current Federal Civilian Employees should list any relevant performance related rating (given within the last three years) and/or incentive awards in your resume. Do NOT include photographs (or links to social media such as LinkedIn), inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. License: At the time of application, you must provide proof, dated within four months of application, of "active" status with a bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. On-line information is allowed as long as it shows that you are in "active" status. ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: The VOW Act requires federal agencies to treat an eligible active duty service member as a veteran, disabled veteran, and preference eligible (as applicable) when applying for civil service positions before the effective release or discharge date. Appointment of military members before the release or discharge date is permissible if the member is on terminal leave. At the time the active duty member applies for a civil position, he or she must submit a "certification" memo in lieu of a DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. The certification memo must originate from the member's military service branch on official letterhead and contain the following: Name/Rank/Grade of Service Member Branch of Armed Forces Dates of Active Service (Start and End Date(s) Expected Date of Discharge/Release from Active Duty Terminal leave start date (if applicable) Expected character of service/discharge (honorable/general) and type of separation (i.e. separation or retirement) Must be certified within 120 days of anticipated discharge Signature by, or by direction of the adjutant, personnel office, unit commander, or higher headquarters commander NOTE: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If appointed, a DD Form 214 must be submitted upon receipt. 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 documentation to their submissions. Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim Veterans Preference must submit VOW certification memo or copy of the official DD Form 214, which must include the character of service, and a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. (SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov.) NOTE: Applicants for attorney appointments do not require veterans' preference in order to be eligible for consideration.
How to Apply
The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 02/17/2025 To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12683598 To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the application questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Application button at the end of the process. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Your Resume (your latest resume will be used to determine your qualifications). If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent (latest) version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent." It is your responsibility to check the status and timestamp of all documents you submit as part of your application. If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, you will not be considered for this vacancy. For qualification determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week (if part-time) and dates of employment (i.e., hours per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. Ensure your resume contains your full name. 2. A complete Application Questionnaire 3. Additional Required Documents (see Required Documents section). Ensure all submitted documents contain your full name. 4. Optional Documents: Performance Appraisals for Current Federal Civilian Employees - Most recent performance appraisals (dated within last 3 years) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. You can access your USAJOBS account to do so by clicking here. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.
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