General Attorney

About the Position: Serves as Senior Assistant District Counsel. Independently plans, organizes, and conducts work, rendering legal advice and opinions on a wide range of complex and difficult legal issues. Incumbent is expected to carry out any assignment within his/her area of responsibility without preliminary instructions, and otherwise to operate with relative autonomy and direct client interface.

Duties

• Acts as principal attorney in charge of civil litigation and renders legal services relating to contracts, real estate, and regulatory/environmental.

• Renders legal opinions and provides advice and representation to other offices within the District regarding a wide range of questions and issues.

• Provides review, analysis and resolution of regulatory/environmental matters, including but not limited to matters involved in the District’s Regulatory Permit program.

• Conducts investigations for, prepares litigation reports for, and coordinates with and assists Department of Justice or Assistant United States Attorneys in lawsuits and other cases.

• Assists the District Counsel by being responsible in most cases for directly advising the District Commander as a functional expert for the District in legal matters.

Salary

• $130,009 - $169,012/year

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Incumbent is required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually.
• Temporary Duty (TDY) travel is 5% of the time.
• Excepted service positions are subject to a two-year trial period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

Education: An applicant 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 (LL.B. or J.D.). Law school transcripts must be submitted at the time of application.

Bar Membership: An applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, or commonwealth of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Specialized Experience: Three or more years of professional legal experience, acquired AFTER being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. At least one year of the required professional legal experience is equivalent to the GS-13 under the General Schedule or other pay systems (NOTE: EXPERIENCE MUST BE DOCUMENTED IN YOUR RESUME). Examples of this experience include (1) analyzing facts, ascertaining law, giving opinions and stating facts on legal issues; (2) explaining legal principles and identifying alternative courses of action; (3) advising Program or Project Manager, Contracting Officer, or other manager or supervisors (a) on all aspects of procurement process to include drafting special agreements or unusual contracting clauses, (b) on NEPA, ESA, CZMA or other aspects of environmental law, (c) on the civilian personnel system and all aspects of handling issues of conduct, performance, and EEO, or labor unions in the federal sector, and (d) on regulation under the Clean Water Act and Rivers and Harbors Act; AND (4) preparing litigation reports and legal documents required by the agency in various federal courts.

Time in Grade Requirement: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

Other Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. Two year trial period may be required. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a Legal Career Field position. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction.htm for more information. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest. DoD National Relocation Program (DNRP) may be offered. Incentives may be authorized on case-by-case basis, subject to agency determination and approval. Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• This position requires a job-related license or certification. You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses

3. ***ALL APPLICANTS (EXCEPT FOR CURRENT USACE ATTORNEYS) MUST SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS***

• Official law school transcripts. Photo copies are acceptable when applying.
• Official statement of relative class standing or a statement that applicant's law school doesn't provide rankings. Photo copies are acceptable when applying.
• Official certificate showing that the applicant is a member in good standing of the bar dated within three months of date the application is submitted.
• A sworn and notarized statement by the candidate that his or her fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction; or, if either has been challenged, a sworn and notarized statement giving the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation that the applicant considers appropriate. As an alternative to a sworn and notarized statement, a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date) (signature of applicant)." (28 U.S.C. 1746) The official certificate and statement of fitness must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted. The certificate and statement are required to be submitted by all applicants, including attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of the Judge Advocate General of the Army.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

How to Apply

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

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/16/2026 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 (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12856602).
• Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section.
• 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. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete.
• It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
• Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.