Attorney-Adviser (General)

With an emphasis on high ethical standards, excellence in public service and the delivery of superlative advice and counsel, DOI Solicitor's Office performs the legal work for the United States Department of the Interior and manages the Departmental Ethics Office and Departmental FOIA Office. With more than five hundred employees, more than four hundred of which are attorneys, the Office strives to provide sound legal services to fulfill the Department's diverse and wide-ranging mission.

Two Attorney-Adviser positions are available with the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region, Billings Field Office, located in Billings, MT. Each position has a specific focus as follows:

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): Representing BIA in Civilian Board of Contract Appeals cases and Interior Board of Indian Appeals cases. Advising the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (a/k/a P/L 93-638) contracts.

Reviewing BIA's land acquisitions and issue title opinions. Reviewing and preparing litigation reports, overseeing discovery, drafting pleadings, and reviewing Department of Justice filings in judicial litigation on matters arising out of various programs and activities for Interior's agencies.

Bureau of Reclamation (BOR): Participating in negotiations of, and reviewing, water contracts with irrigation districts, municipalities, and other entities, pursuant to the Reclamation Act of 1902 and subsequent legislation. Negotiating, and counseling BOR in administering, contracts with tribes throughout the region regarding water projects, pursuant to reserved water rights settlements and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

Representing and counseling BOR regarding real estate issues throughout the region, including easements and rights-of-way, title work for acquisitions, and negotiating and administering agreements with various federal, state, and local agencies for management of BOR lands. Supporting the Department of Justice and counseling BOR in federal court litigation, including drafting and review of pleadings and briefs, and coordinating with client personnel on depositions, and preparation of discovery responses and requests. Occasional representation of BOR before the Department of Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals, including the Departmental Cases and Hearings Division, and the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Potential representation of Reclamation throughout the region on water rights matters, often with Department of Justice assistance, including in general stream adjudications, water rights applications and adjustments, and defense of water rights belonging to Reclamation and its partners.

Other duties as assigned for both positions include authoring memoranda of understanding, recommendations regarding appeal, settlement documents, and other transactional documents arising out of bureau and agency program activities and assisting on other matters assigned by the Regional Solicitor, Field Solicitor, or other supervising attorney. Such assignments may include conducting legal research, analyzing, and interpreting federal statutes, regulations, case law, other legal documents, and agency guidance, and producing opinions and memoranda requiring a high degree of creative legal effort, judgment, and discretion, often harmonizing conflicting positions in areas with little or no precedent, while promoting goals of uniformity, simplicity, and efficiency, and providing formal and informal advice to various DOI agencies.

Salary Range

GS-13: $103,409 to $134,435

GS-14: $122,198 to $158,860

First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

This position is in the excepted service and not subject to competitive service procedures.

Merit promotion procedures do not apply.

Basic Qualification Requirements

Applicants must be law school graduates with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND applicants must be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

Applicants must also meet one of the following:--possess at least 1-year of professional legal experience following law school graduation; OR--have a second professional law degree; OR--meet any of the criteria indicated below:(a) academic standing in top one-third of law school graduating class;(b) graduation with academic honors;(c) significant participation on the law school's law review;(d) significant participation in the law school's moot court competition;(e) significant participation in a clinical legal aid program;(f) significant summer law office clerk experience; or(g) other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

GS-13/14: In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements described above, applicants must also have the following additional years of professional legal experience for the grade level indicated:

• -GS-13 = 2 years
• -GS-14 = 3 ½ years

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.

In order to better assess your qualifications for this position, when preparing your resume please be sure to address your experience in or familiarity with the following areas of legal work: researching and writing legal memoranda and opinions and providing legal advice or recommendations to clients, judges, and/or senior attorneys; and litigating before administrative bodies, and Federal and state courts.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website:https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.