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General Attorney (Disability Law and Fair Housing Litigation Attorney)

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of General Counsel
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/28/2023 to 05/11/2023
This job will close when we have received 250 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$94,199 to - $172,075 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
23-HUD-1584-X
Control number
722237600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals; No prior Federal experience is required.

Duties

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The following are the duties of this position at the GS-14. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As a/an General Attorney (Disability Law and Fair Housing Litigation Attorney), you will:

  • Provide training on legal requirements and ongoing legal advice to OCHCO, OCIO, and other OA offices involved in the evaluation, processing, or fulfillment of RA requests and other Disability Law compliance issues.
  • Render advice and support to OCHCO staff who are designated to work with managers to assist them in navigating the RA process and making RA decision consistent with applicable legal requirements.
  • Serve as legal adviser to the Associate General Counsel for Fair Housing in the general field of Disability Laws and civil rights law, performing legal services required in connection with the Department's administration of civil rights laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Sections 109 and 111 of Title I (Community Development Block Grant Program) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Disability Discrimination); Titles II and II of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (concerning the increase of employment and business opportunities for lower income residents of, and business concerns located in, or owned in substantial part by residents of the metropolitan area in which certain HUD projects are located); Indian Civil Rights matters; and the affirmatively furthering fair housing provisions. Serves as trial counsel in legal proceedings to enforce grantee compliance with civil rights laws, including hearings to terminate federal funding.
  • Define the legal and factual issues to be resolved; researches reports, decisions, and legislation to secure all available information pertinent to the issues involved; interpret authorities relating to civil rights requirements applicable to Departmental programs; consult FHEO and other program and legal staff members to assure full accommodation of programmatic considerations; prepare administrative complaints against grantees; and prepare legal opinions and recommendations for action in correspondence drafted for the signature of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretaries or the General Counsel. The novelty and complexity of many of the cases and situations necessitate original thinking, careful writing, and careful discussion of the issues. The complex social implications of these issues, their effect upon the relationship between the Federal and local government, and other complicating factors, such as vigilance by civil rights organizations and leaders, by individual citizens, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights must also be considered. Conduct high profile litigation on issues of national importance, such as the termination of grantee funding, that are novel, complex, and strongly contested.
  • Participate with FHEO staff in compliance reviews of HUD assisted programs pursuant to Title VI, Section 504 and other appropriate authorities and concerning a wide variety of complex issues including segregation, disparate terms and conditions, disparate impact, and environmental justice. Provide legal and strategic advice on investigative plans, analysis of data, reports and findings of compliance noncompliance and the determination of appropriate remedial action in instances of noncompliance (settlement or adversarial action).

Requirements

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Conditions of employment


The official duty station for this position will be in Washington, District of Columbia. Failure to report to duty at this location may be grounds for a disciplinary action, including removal.

Key Requirements:

  • Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
  • A 2-year trial period is required. (unless already completed)
  • Must successfully complete a background investigation.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
  • Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
  • File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
    • This requirement is applicable for GS-12, GS-13 & GS-14 attorney position(s).
  • Please refer to "Additional Information Section for additional Conditions of Employment."

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:
Applicants MUST:
(1) be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B. or J.D.;
(2) be a current member of a bar with a valid license to practice law in a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
(3) meet all specialized experience requirements as described in the vacancy announcement.

AND

Specialized Experience: for GS-12, GS-13, and GS-14 are defined as:

- Experience applying federal, state or local civil rights laws; OR
- Litigation experience, such as experience drafting complaints or other pleadings, drafting motions, or conducting or responding to discovery; AND
- Experience providing legal advice to clients on complex matters; AND
- Legal research and writing skills and experience giving oral presentations on complex legal matters


For the GS-14, you must:


Have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) plus four (4) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a first professional law degree (LL.B., or J.D.), plus superior law student work (academic standing in upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the school's official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

For the GS-13, you must:

Have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) plus three (3) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a first professional law degree (LL.B., or J.D.), plus superior law student work (academic standing in upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the school's official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

For the GS-12, you must:

Have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) plus two (2) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a second professional law degree (LL.M.) plus one (1) year of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

OR

Have a first professional law degree (LL.B., or J.D.), plus superior law student work (academic standing in upper 1/3 of the law school graduating class, high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, winning of a moot court competition with other law schools, significant work or achievement on the school's official law review, significant summer clerkship or other evidence of clearly superior achievement) plus one (1) year of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

The experience may have been gained in either the public or private sector. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/date/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.

Education

Attorney positions do have an education requirement.

Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B. or J.D. For positions with an education requirement, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. In addition you must provide proof of bar or your bar number in the vacancy questions.

The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.

Additional information

OTHER INFORMATION:

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid.
  • Relocation incentive will not be paid.
  • Recruitment incentive will not be paid.
  • This is a non-bargaining unit position.
  • This position is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
  • HUD offers alternative and flexible work schedules.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (CONTINUED):

HUD employees are subject to a number of government-wide and HUD specific ethics laws and regulations, including restrictions on working in a real estate related business, and having Section 8 tenants, along with other prohibited interests and activities. To review applicable ethics rules and HUD specific restrictions, please visit https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/general_counsel/ethics.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

1. Minimum Requirements: Your application must show that you meet all requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. You will be found "not qualified" if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we will rate you as ineligible.

2. Referral: Since this is an Excepted Service position, a non-rated method of evaluation will be used. We will evaluate your application by comparing your description of your work experience, level of responsibility, and accomplishments with the requirements of the position to determine whether you meet all the qualification requirements. Although competitive examining rules for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply, veteran's preference will be considered as a positive factor. Candidates who meet all the qualification and other eligibility requirements will be referred to the selecting official for consideration and possible interview.

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