General Attorney, GS-0905-11/12 (FPL-12) (TERM NTE 2 YEARS) (Excepted Service) (Open-Continuous)

This position is located in Federal Student Aid, Borrower Defense Branch in Washington, DC. The Borrower Defense Branch is responsible for investigations and projects that have a substantial impact on students, institutions of higher education, and public interest.

Duties

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, May 20, 2026.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a General Attorney, GS-0905-11, you will be responsible for:
•    With significant oversight, prepares preliminary memoranda/reports outlining facts and legal issues, analyzing the factual and legal issues involved, explaining the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justifying recommendations or conclusions.
•    Conducts research in connection with legal questions, such as questions concerning the interpretation and application of statutes, rules, and regulations as they pertain to Enforcement matters.
•    Reviews and synthesizes evidence to support legal theories.
•    With significant supervision, investigates and/or adjudicates borrower defense claims involving varied factual and legal issues.

As a General Attorney, GS-0905-12, you will be responsible for:
•    Prepares preliminary memoranda/reports outlining facts and legal issues, analyzing the factual and legal issues involved, explaining the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justifying recommendations or conclusions.
•    Conducts research of statutes, regulations, ED and FSA policies and legal opinions bearing on the legal issues involved in the development and implementation of investigation activities and borrower defense decisions.
•    Gathers, reviews, and analyzes evidence to support case development.
•    Investigates and/or adjudicates borrower defense claims involving varied factual and legal issues.

Salary

• $78,972 - $145,468/year

Conditions of Employment

• Relocation will not be paid.
• You may be subject to serve a two-year trial period.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Background Investigation is required.

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period 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 period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

This is an open continuous announcement with cutoff dates. Applications will be referred based on receipt of application and established cutoff dates as follows:

 1st cutoff date: 03/05/2026

2nd cutoff date: 04/06/2026

3rd cutoff date: 05/06/2026

Last cutoff date: 05/20/2026

Minimum qualifications requirements for the GS-11:

Is an active member in good standing in the Bar of a State, Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

AND

One year of professional legal experience at the level of difficulty and responsibility at the next lower grade level or equivalent.

OR 

Second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study; OR

The applicant’s record shows superior law student work or activities as demonstrated by one of the following: 

1. Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class; or
2. Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school’s official law review; or
3. Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif; or
4. Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team which represents the law school or in competition with other law schools; or
5. Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation); or
6. Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school; or
7. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

AND

Specialized Experience for the GS-11
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-09 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience applying specific facts to individual cases or applications pursuant to relevant legal standards. 
2. Experience adjudicating claims or applications seeking legal remedies with daily or weekly deadlines.
3. Experience in legal research.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1.    Skill in legal analysis and legal writing.
2.    Skill in legal research.
3.    Skill in analysis of evidence.
4.    Skill in applying the law to specific facts, cases, or claims

Minimum qualifications requirements for the GS-12:

A. Is an active member in good standing in the Bar of a State, Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

AND

B. Has obtained the first professional law degree or training which is permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at the law school.

AND

Two years of professional legal experience at the level of difficulty and responsibility at the next lower grade level or equivalent.

AND

Specialized Experience for the GS-12
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience applying specific facts to complex individual cases or applications pursuant to relevant legal standards. 
2. Experience adjudicating complex claims or applications seeking legal remedies with daily or weekly deadlines.  
3. Experience reviewing and analyzing evidence and conducting legal research. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1.    Skill in legal analysis and legal writing.
2.    Skill in legal research.
3.    Skill in analysis of evidence.
4.    Skill in applying the law to specific facts, cases, or claims.

Education Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level. Other Information Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email sro_recruiting@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email). Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment. Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check. Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures. Financial Disclosure: This position requires financial disclosure. Bargaining Unit: This position is included in the bargaining unit (American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252). Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency. Required Documents

• Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.
• Transcripts may support your qualifications for a federal job and can include high school, college or other schools.
• Some job applications require you to include a writing sample. See the announcement for details.

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

•A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire. 

You are not required to submit bar card or transcripts to apply to the vacancy announcement, but you will be required to submit them upon request from hiring panel or the HR Specialist.  Writing sample and/or list of references may be required of selected applicants at later stages in the selection process.

If you are claiming Veterans’ Preference you must submit: •A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR •A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR •The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR •Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces). Veteran's Preference: Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney 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. 

How to Apply

Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.

Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.

Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).

Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.   

NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.

In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.  

If you have any questions regarding submitting your application, please contact the HR Specialist listed under the Agency Contact Information.

Benefits As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a work life balance, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.