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Trial Attorney (General)

Department of Defense
Defense Legal Services Agency
Department of War, Office of Military Commissions, Office of the Chief Prosecutor

Summary


This position is located in the Department of War (DoW), Office of the Chief Prosecutor (OCP) for Military Commissions. The OCP is responsible for recommending and prosecuting cases for trial before military commissions in accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2009. The OCP is a component of the Office of Military Commissions and is comprised of the Chief Prosecutor, prosecutors, and other persons under the supervision of the Chief Prosecutor.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
05/01/2026 to 05/10/2026
Salary
$169,279 - $197,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Tysons Corner, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Term - This is a time limited position, not to exceed 48 months, but may be extended up to 8 years in one year increments
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
ST-12934827-26-KJJ
Control number
867349600

Duties

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Incumbent typical work assignments may include the following:

  • Serves as a senior prosecutor with responsibility for investigating, researching, and preparing all aspects of and prosecuting highly complex international terrorism cases; and
  • Coordinates with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Army's Special Investigations Field. Office (SIFO), and other entities; and
  • Represents the United States (U.S.) and litigates complex military commissions cases involving alien unprivileged enemy belligerents who are alleged to have committed terrorist acts, violations of the law, or violations of war that may involve highly classified and compartmented national defense information; and
  • Conducts all aspects of investigations, legal research, pretrial preparation, litigation of motions, witness interviews/preparation, and presentation of facts before military commissions; and
  • Reviews proposed new legislation impacting the assigned areas of responsibility and provides comments/input, as needed.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment
  • Required to participate in the direct deposit program
  • This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
  • Selections from this notice are subject to provisions of the DOD Priority Placement Program for displaced employees.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • The incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and SAP components.
  • This position requires the incumbent to file an OGE Form 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, upon appointment and annually thereafter
  • The incumbent may be required to work other than normal duty hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays and/or overtime
  • This position may require up to 50% occasional travel away from your normal duty station for official business on military or commercial aircraft

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements described below.

Basic Requirement:

Professional law degree, i.e. Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctorate (J.D.), from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. Transcripts are required at the time of application.

Certificate of Good Standing

You may qualify at the GS-15 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability to:
  1. Implement criminal litigation in either the military or civilian justice system, or both; and
  2. Research and analyze a wide variety of legal and/or historical materials related to issues in military commissions and/or criminal litigation generally.

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.
Your resume may not exceed two (2) pages
. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration.

Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include

ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: Federal agencies treat active duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligible, when they submit, as part of their application package, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD-214, indicating the service member is otherwise eligible and will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of submission.. A "certification" letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. This "certification" must include your rank, dates of active duty service, type of discharge and character of service (i.e. honorable), and date any terminal leave will begin. It must be signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters. Active duty members that fail to provide a valid "certification" of service with their initial application will be found "not eligible". Members may be appointed before the effective date of their military retirement/separation if they are on terminal leave.

DOD PPP candidates using Application-Based Procedures:

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: Military Spouse Preference applicants, must be selected and placed at the highest grade level for which they have applied and been determined best qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-4) dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for Military Spouse Preference.

Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technicians PPP Eligible: MR and NG technicians PPP applicants must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Reserve and National Guard Technician PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-3) to verify your eligibility for Military Reserve and National Guard Technician preference.

Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technicians Receiving Disability Retirement PPP Eligible: MR and NG technicians receiving disability retirement PPP applicants must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Reserve and National Guard Technician Disability PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-2) to verify your eligibility for Military Reserve and National Guard Technician Disability preference.

Retained Grade PPP Eligible: Retained Grade PPP applicants, must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Retained Grade PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-1) to verify your eligibility for Retained Grade preference.

All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience.

Additional information

Probationary Periods: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing an online application, you may request an alternative application. Please send an email to the following address for information on how to obtain an alternative application: whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil


Reemployed Annuitants: Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. /www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/

Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position may requires an online USA Hire Competency Based Assessment. The USA Hire online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Your eligibility and qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position (if applicable). If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Communication
  • Judgment
  • Legal Acumen
  • Strategic Analysis

Defense Legal Services Agency

The Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) is a world-class service organization, with a dynamic workforce and unwavering commitment to service excellence. WHS is the essential services provider for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, and offices in the National Capital Region.

Agency contact information

Washington HQ Services
Email
whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil
Address
Defense Legal Services Agency
Human Resources Directorate
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Defense Legal Services Agency, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.whs.mil/

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