Attorney Opening

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF CHIEF COUNSEL
DIVERSION AND REGULATORY LITIGATION SECTION
SUPERVISORY ATTORNEY/GS 15

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The Office of Attorney Personnel Management, U.S. Department of Justice, is seeking an experienced attorney to work in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Office of Chief Counsel, as a supervisory attorney (Associate Chief Counsel) in its Diversion and Regulatory Litigation Section. This section, located in Arlington, Virginia, provides legal advice and support to DEA management and field offices worldwide.

Position Description: The Diversion and Regulatory Litigation Section serves as the Drug Enforcement Administration's legal advisor on issues related to the diversion of legally produced controlled substances and listed chemicals into illegitimate channels. The Litigation Section represents DEA in administrative hearings regarding the revocation or denial of DEA registrations for physicians, pharmacies, manufacturers, distributors, importers and exporters to handle controlled substances or listed chemicals, the suspension of international shipments of listed chemical, and the scheduling of controlled substances. Additionally, this section advises Federal and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies and prosecutors on a wide range of investigative and prosecutorial topics arising under the Controlled Substances Act. The Litigation Section also works with the Diversion and Regulatory Policy Section which is responsible for reviewing legislative and regulatory amendments, and providing legal advice on policy issues which impact on DEA's enforcement authority under the Controlled Substances Act. The Associate Chief Counsel manages a staff of approximately 10 attorneys and three support personnel.

Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), have at least 10 years of post J.D. legal experience, and have at least one year experience in grade as a GS 905 14 attorney or equivalent at time of selection. Applicants must also have 1) Significant experience in administrative law and, preferably, knowledge and experience with the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. ' 801 et seq.); 2) Significant litigation experience; 3) Excellent management skills, preferably including managing litigating attorneys, and academic credentials; 4) Strong oral and written communication and advocacy skills; 5) Superior legal research and analytical skills; 6) Experience in dealing with complex legal and policy issues; and 7) Ability to formulate and implement Department of Justice and DEA policies on all matters pertaining to assigned areas. Proficiency in computer aided legal research and computer word processing is preferred.

Application Procedure: Applicants must submit a detailed resume, a cover letter highlighting relevant experience, and a professional legal writing sample to:

Headquarters, Drug Enforcement Administration
Office of Chief Counsel
ATTN: Deputy Chief Counsel Litigation and Policy (E-12375)
8701 Morrissette Drive
Springfield, Virginia 22152

No telephone calls, please. Applications must be received by August 6, 2012. If you prefer to e-mail your application, you can e-mail it to DEAAttorneyApplicants@usdoj.gov. This is a re-advertisement for the position. The original announcement closed on May 25, 2012. If you applied under the original announcement you do not have to re-apply. Your application will be considered.

Salary: Current salary and years of experience will determine the appropriate salary step within the GS 15 level ($123,758 to $155,500). Promotion potential: None.

Applicants who are found, through investigation or personal admission, to have experimented with or used narcotics or dangerous drugs, except those medically prescribed, will not be considered for employment with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of marijuana. Such applicants may be considered for employment if there is no evidence of regular, confirmed usage and the full-field background investigation and results of the other steps in the process are otherwise favorable.

Compliance with this policy is an essential requirement of the position. All applicants must complete the DEA Drug Questionnaire and submit that Questionnaire with their application package. A copy of the drug questionnaire can be located at http://www.justice.gov/dea/, under "Careers at DEA." The link to the questionnaire is located under "Employment Requirements."

Additional Information: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html or http://dojnet.doj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.php

The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys€™ Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference are encouraged to include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g. the DD 214 or other substantiating documents) to their submissions.

The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.