The USPTO Office of the General Counsel, Office of General Law (OGL) is seeking an experienced attorney to provide expert legal advice on employment and investigations matters. The selected attorney will represent the USPTO in administrative litigation before the MSPB and the EEOC and will provide advice and legal opinions on personnel matters including disciplinary and performance actions, reasonable accommodations, and harassment.
Duties
This vacancy has been amended to extend the closing date to April 15, 2026. The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Presence at the Alexandria, VA campus is required for this role, as it includes on site functions that must be performed in person. This position may be eligible for situational telework in accordance with agency policy/business unit discretion. The agency currently allows for 52 hours of telework per calendar year. The individual selected for this position will... Support OGL's employment law and investigations function by serving as the agency's representative in litigation before various administrative tribunals, including the EEOC, MSPB, and arbitrators. This duty includes investigating legal claims, engaging in discovery practice (including both written discovery and the taking of depositions), drafting dispositive motions and/or briefs, negotiating with opposing counsel, and participating in adversarial hearings. This duty also includes assisting the United States Attorney when litigations are filed in federal courts. Provide expert advice to all levels of management and fellow support organizations regarding proposed disciplinary and performance actions, compliance with anti-discrimination laws, merit systems principles, reasonable accommodations, employee compensation, and leave. Investigate allegations of unlawful harassment as well as potential fraud, waste, and abuse referred by the Department of Commerce's Office of the Inspector General. Thoughtfully analyze proposed and existing USPTO policies and procedures concerning personnel and compliance matters. Possess top-notch oral and written communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, and a commitment improvement. Demonstrate initiative and creativity; the ability to set, manage, and balance evolving and challenging projects and priorities; and outstanding legal research skills. Be a flexible teammate, willing to support OGL's other general law functions as needed by providing legal advice and litigation services in other disciplines
Salary
Qualifications
You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available for your review on OPM.GOV. Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-14. Qualified applicants should possess both specialized experience and professional legal/law experience as listed below: Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience advising clients and/or representing clients in litigation, drafting memoranda of fact and law, motions, pleadings, litigation reports and other legal documents, and/or reviewing policies, procedures and actions for legal sufficiency. In addition to the required specialized experience, applicants must possess four (4) years of professional law/legal experience, post J.D. as described below: Professional Legal/Law Experience includes: Experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. This experience is characterized by breadth and depth of experience in rendering professional legal advice and services with respect to questions, regulations, practices, or other matters falling within the purview of a Federal government agency, private sector, law firm, or other organization; investigating matters, such as related to Congressional or Inspector General inquiries; preparing interpretative and administrative orders, rules, or regulations to give effect to the provisions of governing statutes or other requirements of law; drafting, negotiating, or examining contracts or other legal documents; drafting, preparing formal comments, or making substantive recommendations regarding proposed legislation; editing and preparing for publication statutes enacted by Congress and opinions or decisions of a court, commission, or board; drafting and reviewing decisions for consideration and adoption by an organization or official; determining answers to questions of law; and/or studying, analyzing and evaluating legal precedents to present findings. Qualifying legal work must be extremely complex and difficult and require a high order of original and creative legal endeavor in balancing conflicting interests; have broad or wide-scope impact on an economy, industry, private or public interests; and may involve directly or indirectly very large sums of money. Qualifying legal work may also involve acting as principal attorney in charge of the preparation and presentation of cases; recommending policies and developing procedures and regulations to implement new or amended legislation; and acting as legal, general or senior counsel to a major firm or organization. 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.
Education
You must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or Master of Laws (L.L.M) degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school and an active bar membership of any state. If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualification Policies for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration. NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Required Documents
A complete application consists of: A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications; optional cover letter: Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience including titles, salary, employment dates, duties, experience and how it relates to the specialized experience in the job announcement. Please note your resume must be limited to a maximum of two pages. Resumes exceeding this limit will not be considered eligible. Please submit only one resume. Only the document uploaded under the "Resume "section as the "Document Type" will be reviewed to assess your qualifications and for evaluation purposes. Professional or Academic References - Provide 2-3 professional/academic references (name, phone, email); one must be your current supervisor. We'll notify you before contacting them. Transcripts: You MUST submit copies of your LAW SCHOOL transcripts for verification of the education requirements. Unofficial copies are accepted, however, if selected you will be required to furnish official transcripts. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the above educational requirement. Inadequate or illegible information could result in non-qualification and loss of consideration. Bar Membership Documentation: You MUST submit documentation showing that you are an active member of the Bar in Good Standing of any State, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any Territorial Court under the U.S. Constitution. Examples of acceptable bar documentation may include one of the following: 1) Copy of Bar Card; 2) Screen shot of state of licensure with your name identified; 3) Copy of Certificate of Good Standing 4) Identify BAR membership number on the resume. Veterans' Preference Documentation, if applicable: ATTORNEY positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the USPTO considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation. You may also find more information on positive consideration for attorney hiring. Please Note: Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. Any experience claimed in a cover letter should be substantiated by information contained in your resume. A HR Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the hiring official. Supporting Documents: PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who meet the minimum eligibility and qualification requirements for this position may be contacted via email within 7 business days of this announcement closing to submit follow-up supporting docs if applicable. Applicants applying as current/former Federal employees OR as VEOA eligibles who fail to submit supporting documents within 5 business days of receiving the email request will lose further consideration for this position. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP or Sch A eligibility who fail to submit supporting documents within 5 business days of receiving the email request will not lose consideration for this position, however they will not be entitled to special or priority consideration. Supporting docs that may be requested of applicants after the closing date of this announcement are: 1. Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) - For current and/or former Federal employees, your status eligibility and highest permanent grade/step/salary held in the Federal service will be validated with a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" so that we may verify your time-in-grade. 2. Performance Appraisal - Recent performance appraisal with supervisor's signature showing the official final rating of record, and copy of incentive award(s). In cases where the performance appraisal is incomplete or unavailable, applicants may provide explanation of the reasons. You can upload your documents when you register or update your information on the Dept. of Commerce site which you access through the USAJobs site. Your application and all required documents must be received by 11:59 pm ET on the closing date of this job announcement. NOTE: The preceding documents requirement are based on job requirements and individual applicant eligibility. Not all documents are applicable to all applicants; if you are unsure which documents apply to you, contact the HR Specialist listed on this announcement.
How to Apply
You MUST apply online. If you experience difficulties with the application process or do not have access to a computer, please contact the HR Specialist listed as the point of contact before the closing date of this job announcement. If you are a new user to the USAJobs site and have never registered for an account; you will first need to create an account profile with your basic contact information and a resume to begin applying. You must be a registered USAJobs user AND you must be signed-in to your account in order to apply for this position. For help setting up an account or for general help using USAJobs, go to USAJobs Help Page. Once you have gathered all of the required information and are ready to begin the application process, click the "APPLY" button at the right side of the page. You will then be directed away from USAJobs to the Department of Commerce application site for USPTO. You must click "Submit" at the end of the application process to send your application for consideration. To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at http://www.usajobs.gov/ and click on "Applications." Click on the position title, then select "Update Application." If you experience any difficulties with the application site, help is available! OPM has a Help feature on each page. Use this option when you need assistance. All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJobs "Saved Documents" feature. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be traced back to a specific individual and potentially compromise their security or privacy. Examples of PII include: date of birth, Social Security Number, and place of birth. Please ensure that you have removed all Personally Identifiable Information from all documents prior to submitting or uploading your applications material.
