Attorney Advisor

The Attorney Advisor position is in the Department of Program Services, Judicial Services Office, Judicial Programs Division (JPD). JPD provides subject matter expertise on legislative, legal, policy, administrative, and operational matters affecting judges and their staffs, and provides support to the Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations.

Duties

The Judicial Services Office (JSO) is seeking an experienced Attorney Advisor to join its Judicial Programs Division (JPD) team. This position reports to the JPD Chief.

The Attorney Advisor performs complex legal and policy research and analysis, provides support and oversight of JPD's various programs and services, and is responsible for writing and presenting agenda items to committees, advisory councils, and advisory groups.

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

1. Providing information, advice, policy guidance, training, and assistance to federal judges, chambers staff, court executives and their staffs, AO management, members of Congress and congressional staff, and the public on a variety of legal, policy, and administrative matters impacting all federal judges.
2. Providing attorney support for the new chief circuit, district, and bankruptcy judge orientation programs, chief judge follow-up programs, and judicial nominee orientation programs.
3. Developing and updating publications and resources on the judiciary's internet and intranet sites.
4. Performing judgeship and judge position surveys, including the analysis of requests for temporary, new, and ongoing Article III and bankruptcy judgeships and magistrate judge positions, and cyclical utilization reviews of judgeships and magistrate judge positions.
5. Providing policy and program support to the Judicial Conference Committees on International Judicial Relations, Intercircuit Assignments, the Administration of the Bankruptcy System, and the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System, and the Subcommittee on Judicial Statistics of the Committee on Judicial Resources.
6. Reviewing and providing feedback on Judicial Conference committee, advisory council, and advisory group agenda items, topic briefs, and policy proposals impacting judges, chambers staff, and staff attorneys.
7. Providing support to the AO's Judicial Programs and Services Advisory Council, Magistrate Judges Advisory Group, Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group, Chambers Staff Advisory Group, Artificial Intelligence Task Force, and Pro Se Working Group.
8. Providing oversight of supplemental law clerk programs, including the pro se law clerk program, court law clerk program, and temporary emergency fund (which provides additional law clerk support to judges in certain emergency situations); providing expertise in Article III chief judge authorities and senior status; and providing expertise in magistrate judge authority.
9. Coordinating with judges, court staff, internal groups, and AO and JSO management on the development of other projects, reports, and publications.

Salary

• $121,785 - $197,200/year

Conditions of Employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

1. All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
2. Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the AO. If non-citizens are considered for hire into a temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO Human Resources Office there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at USAJOBS Help Center | Employment of non-citizens/. For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
3. All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.
4. New employees to the AO will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights/responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
5. All new AO employees are required to identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.
6. You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.
7. If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction (attach a copy of license). Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least 4 years of post J.D. experience.

Specialized Experience: Subsequent to graduation from law school, applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is demonstrated experience performing legal work involving the interpretation and application of statutes and regulations and preparing legal memoranda directly related to assessing judicial administration and operational matters.

Attaching a cover letter is highly encouraged but not required to qualify for this position.

Education Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) (Transcript required). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/. Required Documents

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required:

• Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications (limit two pages)
• Bar Membership/License - Documentation that demonstrates current active member in good standing of a bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a federal court of general jurisdiction.
• Law School Transcript.
• Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 04/14/2026 to receive consideration.

To begin, click

• Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
• You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
• You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.
• To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
• Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12922910