Clarification from the agency

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

The Honors Attorney Program will provide mentoring and training in a wide variety of legal practice areas including environmental law, legislation and regulation, litigation and enforcement, international law, nuclear energy, electricity and fossil energy, clean energy and energy efficiency, procurement, intellectual property, fiscal and privacy law, government ethics, and federal employment and labor law.

As Honors Attorneys rotate to new assignments, they will confront a wide variety of legal issues while learning the intricacies of each law specialty. The Honors Attorney will be rotated to new assignments every four months and will join different Assistant General Counsel (AGC) offices. Honors Attorneys will learn foundational areas of government law practice and be asked to deliver statutory interpretations to inform the implementation of programs, review rules and policies, consult on questions of environmental and administrative compliance, assist in litigation, and ensure that the DOE complies with all applicable laws while accomplishing its mission.

At the full performance level, the Honors Attorney:

Reviews and becomes familiar with legal processes, statutes, regulations, office procedures and policies that affect the assignment area, and other requirements that have a bearing on the activities of DOE.

Perform legal research of laws, legal opinions, policies, regulations, legal texts and precedent cases bearing on the assignment. Typical research will involve the U.S. Code, decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and other lower courts and administrative agencies as well as federal regulations.

Analyzes factual or legal issues, and determines what further facts are needed and what sources are applicable.

Participates in litigation before federal administrative bodies and the federal courts.

Examines formal filings for legal sufficiency and appropriate disclosure; and program material for legal soundness and accuracy.

Draft memoranda as well as briefs, motions, witness testimony, rulemakings, respond to Congressional inquiries, and assist DOE programs and staff with a variety of legal and statutory interpretation issues.

Recommends positions on issues and presents recommendations orally and in memoranda.

Presents recommendations to the supervisor, and, upon request, to other interested officials. These recommendations may be utilized by more experienced attorneys in making final recommendations and decisions.

Prepares necessary legal documents and advisory opinions.

Participate with a team of DOE attorneys in resolving issues for clients.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements.
• Subject to satisfactory security and suitability requirements
• May be required to successfully complete a trial period.
• If selected, you must self-identify if you are or were (within the last 5 years) a Schedule A, Schedule C, or non-career SES political appointee as OPM approval is required prior to finalizing your selection.
• GS-0905-11 Attorney Requires - Proof of current active member in good standing in the bar of a State, District of Columbia, territory of the United States, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• Employees must become a member of the bar within 14 months and maintain active bar membership while employed as an attorney with DOE.
• This position is NOT included in a Bargaining Agreement.
• Occasional travel may be required.

Qualifications

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

0905 Honors Attorney Program Attorney Basic Requirements:
All applicants MUST:

1. Meet the Honors Attorney Program Law Clerk Requirements; AND
2. Meet the minimum education requirements of successful completion of a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) with a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.); AND
3. Must be a current, active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

GS-0905-11 Qualifications:
Law School Graduates: Law school graduates are individuals who have completed law school and have been awarded a law degree from an accredited law school. Law school graduates may preserve their eligibility to apply to the HAP for not more than two years following law school graduation (i.e., a spring 2022 law school graduate must both remain eligible and apply to the HAP not later than the 2023 application deadline for a fall 2024 start date).

Law school graduates MUST preserve their eligibility by starting an "eligibility preserving activity" (see examples below within nine months of law school graduation. Generally speaking, eligibility preserving activities are approximately one year in duration, but they can be longer (e.g., a two-year clerkship, an 18-month fellowship). Short-term (e.g., less than nine month) "bridge the gap" fellowships designed to assist recent law school graduates to gain legal experience while seeking full-time employment do not qualify as "eligibility preserving activities." However, a recent graduate who participates in such a fellowship, but also starts an eligibility preserving activity within nine months of law school graduation is not disqualified by such participation. DOE reserves the right to determine whether candidates have preserved their eligibility, and may choose to rely on the U.S. Department of Justice's eligibility guidelines when appropriate.

• Judicial Clerkships: Judicial clerkships (any U.S. jurisdiction) are qualifying eligibility preserving activities. An applicant can have multiple clerkships or combine judicial clerkships with other prior or subsequent eligibility-preserving activities (e.g., fellowships, graduate law programs).
• Qualifying Full-time Legal Fellowships: There are an increasing number of legal fellowships that may preserve eligibility. Due to the wide variety of programs, DOE cannot provide an exclusive list. Candidates will be asked to provide specific information about the fellowship in order to permit DOE to determine whether eligibility was preserved. Full-time legal fellowships may be paid or unpaid, and are subject to the same requirements as other eligibility preserving activities (see above).

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements above. Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

You will be evaluated for this job based on the qualifications above, your Writing Sample that shows your knowledge level and ability to put that into words showing your technical abilities, and your Cover Letter (no more than 1 page) that describes your interest in this role at the Department of Energy and describes your experience. When describing your experience, please give examples that demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge you possess, the level of the people with whom you interacted, and the sensitivity of the issues you handled. Describe your applicable experience, if any, that touches on the following range of tasks:

• Undertake legal research and provide written legal analysis, advice, and recommendations on complex legal and policy matters.
• Prepare and review rulemakings, orders, Federal Register notices and responsive comments, public filings, policy statements, reports to the President and Congress, and congressional testimony. Review and comment on legislation to determine the potential impact on client activities, and draft amendments.
• Represent clients in meetings, hearings, and other proceedings.
• Support litigation efforts, including the preparation and filing of motions and other documents, in federal and state regulatory proceedings.
• Support transactional work, including the preparation of agreements and performance of due diligence and compliance review.

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.

Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the in Well Qualified category (or higher).