General Attorney (Associate Legal Advisor)

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) is seeking an attorney to serve as an Associate Legal Advisor.

This is a distant remote work position. Selectees must work from an alternative worksite in either the Mountain or Pacific time zone and within 50 miles of any OPLA Field Location. Applicants must be a graduate of an American Bar Association accredited law school with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. Please see Required Documents for more information.

A student loan repayment incentive may be available; if such an incentive is available and is authorized, a service agreement will be required.

ICE OPLA Government Information Law Division is seeking an attorney for an Associate Legal Advisor position in Washington, D.C. to handle issues relating to:

• Providing legal advice, training, and support to ICE programs, including top-ranking officials, on FOIA, the Privacy Act, E-Government Act, Federal Records Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, and general matters relating to information disclosure;
• Serving as agency counsel in in defending ICE against various civil litigation, to include FOIA, Privacy, and other APA-related lawsuits filed in U.S. Federal Courts;
• Providing crucial assistance in responding to congress, media outlets, and other entities: handling third-party requests for agency information; and reviewing domestic and international information sharing agreements, to include Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties and Customs and Mutual Assistance Agreements;
• Providing legal advice and guidance on confidentiality-related statutes, regulations, and policies; and
• Liaising with DHS's Office of General Counsel and OPLA's legal counterparts in other DHS components, the Department of Justice, and local and state partners, on various issues pertaining to information law.

GILD primarily provides legal advice to ICE Operational Program clients. GILD's work contributes to significant policy decisions integral to ICE's mission. Assignments within GILD are fast-paced and involve high-profile work. GILD attorneys advise, counsel, and train operational programs on legal authorities, best practices, and agency policies on a wide array of issues.

GILD attorneys work closely with a wide range of ICE program offices, including HSI, OPR, ERO, OAQ, M&A. They also work with DHS HQ, other DHS component agencies, and HQ stakeholders, and other federal agencies and departments.

The selected attorney will immediately be given significant responsibilities and will be expected to craft legally supportable policies to address the needs of agency operational components. The attorney will be expected to routinely provide timely legal opinions to ICE officers and agents, GILD management, and leadership within OPLA, ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the General Counsel Headquarters. The selected attorney will be required to assess litigation risk and provide litigation support to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

OPLA is the largest legal program in DHS, employing over 1,200 attorneys nationwide. In addition to Headquarters in Washington, D.C., there are 25 OPLA field locations in more than 60 cities throughout the United States. Pursuant to statute, OPLA serves as the exclusive representative of DHS in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review litigating cases involving criminal noncitizens, terrorists, human rights violators, and other priority noncitizens. OPLA also provides a full range of legal services to all ICE programs and offices.

OPLA provides legal advice and prudential counsel to ICE personnel on their law enforcement authorities, legal liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, ethics, and a range of administrative law issues, such as contract, fiscal and employment law. OPLA represents the agency before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Civilian Board of contract Appeals. OPLA attorneys support DOJ in the prosecution of ICE cases and in the defense of civil cases against ICE.

OPLA fosters an environment in which all voices are heard and values the unique perspectives and opinions that inhere among a talented, diverse, and inclusive workforce. Comprising a far more diverse workforce than its private sector counterparts, OPLA is proud to strive to further diversify the experiences, perspectives, and characteristics of its workforce. It is committed to celebrating our differences and embracing practices that foster a fair, safe, and inclusive workplace by promoting equitable access to opportunities.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

Applicants should be able to efficiently produce quality legal analyses of complex and novel issues, exercise sound legal judgment, prioritize competing assignments, and work effectively independently, as part of a team, and across work units. Applicants should be detail-oriented and have a strong interest in supporting and providing stellar client services to diverse program offices, including law enforcement officers, policymakers, attorneys, and agency senior leadership, and must be able to tailor communications to a particular audience. Applicants should be able to take initiative and work in a reliable, decisive, and professional manner. Applicants should possess the following characteristics and competencies: integrity, sound professional judgment, organizational skills, decisiveness, initiative, stellar client services, the ability to function independently and cooperatively, and superior written and oral advocacy skills.

In addition, applicants for this position should be able to:

• Handle Federal litigation, and issues relating to the FOIA, Privacy Act, E-Government Act of 2002, the Federal Records Act of 1950, and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
• Work closely and diplomatically with federal and state agencies and other law enforcement partners;
• Prioritize multiple assignments, including litigations and taskings;
• Exercise sound legal judgment;
• Efficiently produce quality legal analyses of complex issues within the area of FOIA, Privacy, information disclosure law; and
• Work effectively both independently and as part of a team. In addition, the selectee must possess the ability to represent ICE in high-level meetings and to provide legal advice to top-ranking officials.

Bar Membership: You must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a U.S. state, a territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last five years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 C.F.R. 213.3102(u), and Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 C.F.R. 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.