This position is located in the Office of the Administrative Law Judges (ALJ). The ideal candidate would possess experience in substantive areas of intellectual property and/or unfair competition law, as well as experience in litigation and adjudication, and have a record of superior achievement in legal and STEM education. The candidate would possess superior writing and organizational skills, and the ability to handle a large volume of information with careful attention to accuracy and detail.
Duties
As an Attorney-Advisor, you will: Serve as an attorney under limited supervision of the Chief ALJ or another ALJ and provide legal expertise to the ALJ in support of complex investigations of alleged unfair import practices. Provide legal expertise in other intellectual property right matters (i.e., patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets). Prepare memoranda on legal issues and make appropriate recommendations to the ALJ. Respond to oral and written inquiries from members of the public or the bar regarding status of the investigation process, as appropriate. Assist the ALJ in conducting legal research, drafting orders and decisions, and reviewing and analyzing arguments and evidence.
Salary
Qualifications
Applicants must meet all of the qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must have the general and specialized experience outlined below which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. To be hired as an Attorney with USITC, you must: possess at least a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree or a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND currently be a member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, applicants must meet the specialized experience below. GS-14: Applicants must have at least four years of experience which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. This experience must consist of the following: one year of general experience which is defined as professional legal experience of a broad, general nature, not requiring specialization or expertise in a specific area or type of law AND three years of specialized experience which is defined as professional legal experience in areas such as: intellectual property litigation, unfair competition law, administrative law, and/or experience interpreting statutes, regulations, court decisions and agency determinations. GS-15: Applicants must have at least five years of experience which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. This experience must consist of the following: one year of general experience which is defined as professional legal experience of a broad, general nature, not requiring specialization or expertise in a specific area or type of law AND four years of specialized experience which is defined as professional legal experience in areas such as: intellectual property litigation, unfair competition law, administrative law, and/or experience interpreting statutes, regulations, court decisions and agency determinations. 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
All applicants must possess a first professional law degree: J.D. or LL.B from an American Bar Association Law School, or equivalent training. Equivalent training is training permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at a law school. To be acceptable, this training must be of the kind and nature required by the state in which the bar exam is taken. A copy of your transcript(s) is required to show proof that you meet this requirement. Please see the Required Documents section of the announcement for more specific information. Submit a copy of your transcript(s) or list of courses with credit hours, major(s) and grade-point average or class ranking. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials: http://www.naces.org/members.htm.
Other Information
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a one-year probationary period (competitive service) or a two-year trial period (excepted service) during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Excepted service appointments: This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer rights to permanent Civil Service status. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you are registered with the Selective Service or are exempt under Selective Service regulations. For additional information concerning Selective Service requirements, please visit http://www.sss.gov/. Cover page to fax paper application - OPM Form 1203fx: http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/opm1203fx.pdf Assessment Question: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12784868 Vacancy ID number: EX-25-032-MW Reasonable accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the contact listed on the vacancy announcement. The decision to grant a reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis. Verification of information: Any information claimed on your resume and in application materials, such as education, credentials, employment history, etc., will be verified as part of the security clearance process. Time period to meet qualifications: All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Required Documents
To receive consideration, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified below by 08/28/2025 1. Resume: Your resume may be in any written format you choose, and to be sufficient, should contain the required information as specified in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. Insufficient resumes, or resumes that contain inappropriate information, such as privacy information or photographs, will result in an ineligible rating. Your resume should not exceed 2 pages and must demonstrate the specialized experience related to the position for which you are applying. If your resume goes beyond two pages, we will only consider the first two pages for the required experience as outlined in the specialized experience. It must contain the following information: Name, address, telephone number, email address; Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade); If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy); If other than full time you must provide hours worked per week. PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed. 2. Occupational questionnaire: A completed job-specific occupational questionnaire should be submitted through your Application Manager account. 3. Proof of Bar Membership: Documentation must show that you are a member of the Bar of a state, territory or commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia. If you are made an offer, you must submit a Certificate of Good Standing dated within 30 days of the offer. 4. Transcripts: You must submit a copy of your transcript(s), as specified under the Education section of this announcement. Unofficial transcripts are sufficient for application purposes, provided they show your classes, grades, dates of attendance and award of any degree. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment. 5. SF-50: Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50. 6. Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney positions, which are in the excepted service; however, the Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring of all positions. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include such information in their cover letter, or resume, and submit supporting documents (e.g. DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) as part of their application package. Although the point preference system is not used as in the competitive service, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form 15 (SF-15), and documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed, as listed on the SF-15. Specific information is available on the Office of Personnel Management website at: http://www.opm.gov.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/28/2025 to receive consideration. 1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date. 3. To verify that your application is complete, 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 Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. 4. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete. The Vacancy ID is 12784868.
Go Back
