Attorney Advisor (FOIA)

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is one of the best places to work in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and is one of the premier inspector general offices in federal government. The mission of the OIG is to detect and deter fraud, waste, abuse and misconduct in DOJ. The DOJ-OIG Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice on complex issues relevant to general OIG operations and specific OIG audits, investigations, inspections, and reviews.

Duties

Serve as an OIG OGC attorney primarily assigned to support the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Unit as a client. The attorney will work on matters of national scope that involve the balancing of public access with effective law enforcement. The selected candidate will be required to coordinate with DOJ litigators and U.S. Attorneys' offices across the country. The attorney will ensure that OIG equities are protected in a host of high- profile and complex matters, including those in litigation.

Provides legal advice to, and consults and coordinates with, personnel in DOJ and other federal agencies on issues at the intersection of law enforcement and civil litigation with an emphasis on FOIA and other information disclosure-related matters, including in complicated multi-agency FOIA and Privacy Act (PA) cases. To that end, drafts, edits, and reviews legal documents, including briefs and declarations, relating to FOIA and PA cases in litigation and keeps others within the OIG, as well as Department leadership, apprised of the status of litigation.

Provides guidance in the development and establishment of FOIA/PA policies and procedures to ensure that significant FOIA/PA issues are identified and addressed.

Provides legal advice and guidance in connection with classification reviews, especially those that may impact release of information pursuant to FOIA requests. Provides legal advice and guidance regarding records and information retention and related issues as needed.

Provides support to the OIG FOIA Unit and the OIG General Counsel as needed to advance the OIG mission.

Assists with other OGC responsibilities as assigned.

Salary

• $169,279 - $197,200/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You must register with Selective Service, if applicable.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• J.D. degree and active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.
• You may be required to serve a trial period for this position.
• It is DOJ policy 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.
• Financial Disclosure: If selected, you will be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position you must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, possess a J.D. Degree, and be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction).

Possessing the minimum post law degree legal experience does not guarantee the applicant will be selected at that grade level.

Specialized Experience:
In addition, to qualify for this position at the GS-15 level, applicants must have at least 4 years or more post-J.D. legal experience, one (1) of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include providing legal opinions or memoranda on complex and difficult issues of law; reviewing and preparing recommendations for responses to subpoenas and other requests for production of materials; in depth knowledge of FOIA rules and regulations; and conducting litigation, including trying cases, before courts and administrative tribunal.

You must meet all qualifications by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume and supporting documents must also clearly demonstrate that you have the experience listed to qualify for this position.

Education All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov. A J.D., or equivalent, degree. Applicants who possess an equivalent degree rather than a J.D. may be subject to additional review by the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management. Other Information The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Additional information on DOJ's EEO policy can be found on our website. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php? title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov. Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and 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. DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes. Veterans Preference: 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 indicate their preference in response to the appropriate question in their assessment questionnaire (it is also recommended that information is included in their cover letter or resume) and they must submit supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) which verifies their eligibility for preference. 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, http://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). Required Documents

• Resume
  • Your updated resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. 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, and 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.
• Assessment Questionnaire (you will be prompted to complete this when you apply online).
• Proof of active bar membership
• A writing sample not to exceed 10 pages
• Schedule A documentation (if applicable)
  • Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and 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. DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes.
• Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.
• Veterans' Preference (if applicable)
  • 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).

How to Apply

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/21/2026to receive consideration.

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The application process is as follows:

1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements)
6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can reuse the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application.

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you.

The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.