Trial Attorney - Environmental and Bankruptcy Law

Summary

The Environmental Enforcement Section is responsible for nationwide civil enforcement of federal environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (the Superfund law). Our attorneys pursue enforcement actions that result in significant benefits for public health, from reducing air pollution to cleaning up contaminated lands.

At least one position to be filled in either Denver, CO or Washington, DC.

Duties

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The Energy and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking litigators with experience in environmental and bankruptcy law for its Environmental Enforcement Section in Washington, D.C. The Section's bankruptcy cases have involved debtors engaged in a wide variety of industrial activities such as mining, chemical, coal, and oil and gas companies. The Section has brought actions under the statutes it enforces against debtors and also must protect the Government's interests in protecting health and safety in bankruptcy court. Objections are filed to debtors' proposed plans of reorganization and sales of assets that fail to adequately ensure compliance and protect public health and safety as required by law. Bankruptcy litigation may involve legal issues such as the police and regulatory exception to the automatic stay, feasibility of proposed plans of reorganization, the permissible scope of bankruptcy discharge and free and clear bankruptcy sales, abandonment, fraudulent conveyance, the priority of environmental liabilities in bankruptcy, obtaining compliance when a debtor's assets are collateralized, and estimation of environmental claims.

The breadth of the Section's practice is extensive and challenging. It includes cases of national scope, such as bankruptcy cases involving debtors with operations throughout the country and cases against multiple members of an identified industry. Characterized as complex litigation, the Section's cases typically involve significant factual and expert discovery and substantial motions practice in the pre-trial stage or pre-hearing briefing in bankruptcy cases. The Section's bankruptcy cases may involve presentation of argument and evidence at bankruptcy confirmation proceedings or other contested matters such as proposed asset sales or abandonments. The position will allow the selected individuals to utilize their superior legal research, writing and oral advocacy skills in all aspects of case development, negotiation, motions practice, and trial. The attorneys selected will be responsible for assuming a diverse case load brought under any of the statutes the Section enforces and will include both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy cases depending on the ebb and flow of bankruptcy cases and Section needs.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You must complete a background investigation to include pre-employment drug testing.
• Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
• You must maintain a bank account for direct deposit of salary.
• J.D. degree required, must be an active member of the bar, any jurisdiction.
• Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.

Qualifications

Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree (or equivalent), be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and be a U.S. citizen or national. Applicants must have the years of post J.D. (or equivalent) legal experience for the specific grade level requirements listed below:

• At least 1.5 years of post J.D. experience that includes both environment and bankruptcy litigation and/or related judicial experience to qualify for the GS-13 grade level.
• At least 2.5 years of post J.D. experience that includes both environment and bankruptcy litigation and/or related judicial experience to qualify for the GS-14 grade level.
• At least 4 years of post J.D. experience that includes both environment and bankruptcy litigation and/or related judicial experience to qualify for the GS-15 grade level.

Applicants also must have strong, demonstrated qualifications in the following areas: skill and experience working collaboratively and productively with others; excellent written and oral communication skills; the ability to analyze a variety of legal issues; initiative; professional judgment; organizational skills; and the ability to manage multiple demands simultaneously and to excel in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

The Section will consider any of the following qualifications, which are desirable, but not required:

• Federal or state court litigation and trial experience, including experience with electronic discovery and document management;
• Experience with multi-party negotiations and mediations;
• Knowledge of the laws enforced by the Environmental Enforcement Section;
• Experience supervising the work of, and delegating responsibility to, professional staff; and
• Skill and experience working cooperatively and productively with a range of people, including co-counsel and professional staff, the staff of other federal agencies, fact and expert witnesses, opposing counsel, and judicial officials.

While the following are also desirable, no candidate will be excluded from consideration in the absence of these experiences: Judicial clerkships (especially in federal court), law review, moot court, and clinical experience.

Applicants should have a strong interest in federal litigation and/or trial work and a strong academic background. The ideal candidates will have between two and seven years' post-JD experience (including judicial clerkships, if any) and will be able to demonstrate an interest in public service.

The possible salary range for Denver, CO.:

• GS-13 ($118,675 - $154,280)
• GS-14 ($140,239 - $182,316)
• GS-15 ($164,956 - $197,200)

The possible salary range for Washington D.C.:

• GS-13 ($121,785 - $158,322)
• GS-14 ($143,913 - $187,093)
• GS-15 ($169,279 - $197,200)

YOUR RESUME MUST provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement if you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements. Please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.