Assistant General Counsel

The Assistant General Counsel position is located in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The OGC provides legal advice and services to the Director and Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) staff, the Judicial Conference of the United States and its committees, judges, and other senior court officials. The Office is responsible for rendering legal opinions and advice on a wide range of issues in the field of Federal judicial administration.
Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/. This position will report to the General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The OGC is seeking an Assistant General Counsel specializing in providing legal and policy advice with respect to cyber law in the federal judiciary. The incumbent will be providing analysis and legal advice on laws and regulations governing the judiciary's information technology (IT) operations and monitoring and assessing the potential impact of emerging technologies and cyber threats on laws, regulations, and/or policies. The incumbent must have excellent legal research and analytical skills; the ability to write clearly and succinctly; the ability to plan, organize, and work effectively under demanding circumstances and time constraints; the ability to identify and resolve problems effectively; and the ability to communicate effectively with AO management, judges and other senior court personnel, and employees of the Executive and Legislative Branches.

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

1. Researching and providing analysis and legal advice on laws, regulations, policies, and ethics related to IT, cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud computing, and privacy.
2. Responding to written, telephonic, and other inquiries from judges, court executives, AO personnel and other judiciary officials on cyber law issues.
3. Reviewing and authoring pertinent sections in the Guide to Judiciary Policy and the AO Manual.
4. Analyzing and advising on proposed legislation, judiciary regulations, policies, and similar material related to cyber law.
5. Evaluating contracts to ensure compliance with funding, legal, and program requirements.
6. Developing legal guidance for implementation pertaining to cyber initiatives and programs.
7. Providing legal analysis and guidance to auditors, assessors, privacy specialists, and oversight and compliance personnel regarding compliance with cybersecurity policies and relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
8. Providing legal oversight and guidance on cyber response actions to mitigate or reduce risk and assist in developing an appropriate partnership strategy for law enforcement investigations.

Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least 3 years of post J.D. experience.

Specialized Experience: Subsequent to graduation from law school, applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) (preferably 3 years) of specialized experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is demonstrated experience as a practicing attorney for the federal government or private sector providing legal advice in the areas of cyber law and related compliance issues and demonstrable knowledge of federal IT laws and regulations.

Highly Desired:

• Familiarity with federal judiciary operations.
• Familiarity with federal procurement law.