Senior Counsel for Patent and Trademark Disciplinary Matters

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking a Senior Counsel who will perform a variety of complex and sensitive assignments relating to patent and trademark disciplinary matters that affect the livelihood of patent attorneys and agents throughout the United States and abroad. This position will serve as the technical expert on disciplinary matters and renders legal and policy advice through the General Counsel to the Under Secretary and Director of the USPTO.

Duties

As the Senior Counsel for Patent and Trademark Disciplinary Matters, you will use your knowledge of and experience with investigating grievances related to attorney and agent misconduct to determine what disciplinary proceedings are appropriate, and suspending or excluding from practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) any practitioner found to be culpable of misconduct by violating USPTO Rules.

Additional duties and responsibilities of the Senior Counsel for Patent and Trademark Disciplinary Matters include, but are not limited to the following:

• Meeting with senior agency officials in connection with recommended decisions and responses to USPTO and the Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) policies.
• Overseeing the operations of the investigation, preparation, argument, and general conduct of the full range of highly technical and highly controversial disciplinary cases involving scientific, engineering, ethical and legal consideration.
• Contribute to USPTO's overall effort to increase compliance with U.S. patent and trademark law and regulations and thereby improve the accuracy of patent and trademark submissions to the USPTO.
• Representing the USPTO and OED before various committees and public and private sector groups.
• Coordinating and assigning cases for investigation.
• Safeguarding the integrity of the patent and trademark information.

Salary

• $150,160 - $207,500/year

Conditions of Employment

• Refer to "Additional Information".
• Click "Print View" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You are required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• If this is your first federal appointment, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. Current federal service employees may be given a new appointment, and a new probationary period may be required.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.
• Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) will be required within the first 30 days of appointment.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum requirements for a Senior Level position, candidates must be a recognized subject matter expert with directly related experience. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at the GS-15 or equivalent level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector. Candidates must demonstrate their experience meets the Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs) for this position in their two-page resume and this experience must have been at a sufficiently high level of difficulty to clearly show the candidate possesses the required subject matter expertise and technical qualifications set forth below.

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.

To be considered, the resume must not exceed two pages. Written narratives for the Professional Technical Qualifications are not required. Candidates must demonstrate their experience meets the Professional Technical Qualifications for this position in their two-page resume.

PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (PTQS):

1. Knowledge of litigating and advising on highly controversial disciplinary cases involving misconduct by practitioners.
2. Knowledge of the rule making process, including knowledge of the statutes and regulations governing the rule making process.

There is NO requirement to prepare a narrative statement specifically addressing the PTQs.

Education A.) Education Requirement: Must have successfully completed a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from an accredited educational institution; B.) Bar Membership: Must have a current active bar membership from any State, territory, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, or Federal Court. Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov. Other Information If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration of Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx) OPM must authorize any employment offers made to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employees in the executive branch. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Noncareer SES employee in the executive branch, you must disclose that to the Human Resources Office. Required Documents

1. RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (i.e., 1 page that is double-sided or 2 pages that are one-sided each) showing all relevant experience. PLEASE DO NOT USE USAJOBS RESUME BUILDER.

2. VACANCY QUESTION/ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES: Responses are automatically submitted through USA Jobs when you apply to this vacancy.

3. EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected and not already on file. See "Education" for more details.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Most recent performance evaluation.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete this application and submit any required documents specified in the Required Documents section and submit by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.

To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.

Follow the prompts to select and upload your résumé and/or other required documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the "Include Personal Information" section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.

You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and uploaded, (i.e., resume and other required documents) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Application packages will NOT be accepted via mail. Due to security processes, mail delivery takes approximately 2-3 weeks to process at which time the vacancy announcement will be closed, and no further consideration will be given to additional application packages.

Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.