Attorney Advisor (Trademark)

This position is located in the Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations, Trademark Academy. The Trademark Academy Lead Attorney serves in one of the Trademark Academy law offices and mentors new attorneys with no signatory authority or partial signatory authority in the examination of such cases and reviews and approves actions taken by the trainee to include serving as a trainer to other attorneys assigned to the Trademark Academy.

To meet minimum eligibility requirements for this position, applicants must possess at least a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree or a Juris Doctor J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.

If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria,Virginia.This position is telework eligible per agency and business unit discretion/policy.

As a Trademark Academy Lead Attorney, this role is the ideal next career step for you if:

• You're ready to serve as a as a mentor to new examiners, providing hands-on instruction and guidance to assist new attorneys gain experience with applying examination regulations, practices, and procedures; resolving problems; and developing recommended disposition of assigned cases.
• You're eager to oversee and be responsible for examining trademark applications that involve legal issues of extreme difficulty requiring research and analysis of the most complex legal and factual issues involved in trademark examination.
• You're a collaborative business partner who advises the Trademark Academy Administrator of any problems arising within the law office as well as developments in trademark examination cases that involve potentially controversial issues.
• You're committed to participating in the development and implementation of training programs for newly-hired attorneys and law clerks in conjunction with executive, Academy and law office leaders.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has not issued qualification standards for attorney positions. However, the USPTO sets minimum qualifications for attorney positions and sets forth these qualifications in each vacancy announcement. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement.

Specialized Experienceis experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-13.

To qualify for this position at the GS-14 level, you must possess at least one (1) year of Specialized Experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level AND four (3) years of the Professional Legal/Law Experience.

Specialized Experience is defined as experience working with Trademark statutes, case law, rules of practice regarding Trademark operational requirements, practices, procedures, pre-examination, publication and issue, the intent-to-use, and post registration; knowledge of USPTO and Trademark program goals, objectives, business priorities and public policy issues; experience applying legal, factual and marketplace issues related to the prosecution of trademark and service mark applications to a variety of International Classes.

AND

Professional Legal/Law Experience is defined as having experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled in the area of Trademark Law. This experience is characterized by giving legal advice with respect to questions, regulations, practices, etc. of the Federal government, law firm, or private industry; preparing interpretative orders, rules, decisions, or opinions to give effect to the provisions of statutes or laws; drafting, negotiating, or examining legal documents; drafting, preparing formal comments, or making substantive recommendations regarding legal work product; drafting, editing and preparing legal guidelines; drafting and reviewing decisions for adoption by an organization or official; conducting investigations to obtain facts; determining questions of law; evaluating legal precedents to offer findings/make recommendations; recommending policies and developing procedures or regulations to implement new or amended legislation; acting as legal, general or senior counsel to a major firm or organization; developing and implementing written training or guidance; providing instruction in a classroom setting.

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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.