Supervisory General Attorney (Deputy General Counsel)

The Office of the General Counsel practices law across a wide range of areas, including international affairs, litigation in federal courts of appeals, rulemakings, and drafting recommendations in agency adjudications. The Deputy General Counsel shares responsibility with the General Counsel for overseeing and administering legal matters across the Federal Maritime Commission, including supervising personnel within the Office of the General Counsel. Please refer to the qualifications and required docuements for applicable education requirements. The duties of the Deputy General Counsel include serving as the first-level supervisor of a team of attorneys; rendering legal advice on matters before the agency and its staff; analyzing legal issues raised in adjudications and rulemakings; and assisting the General Counsel in the exercise of the following functions:

• Supervising and managing a team of legal professionals at various Federal grade levels and skill sets.
• Furnishing and/or supervising the provision of legal services and policy recommendations to the Chairman and Commissioners on regulatory, administrative, or general law matters.
• Directing and/or participating in litigation before federal courts, and other federal government agencies, and responsibility for the preparation and review of all pleadings, briefs, memoranda, and other legal documents incidental to such litigation.
• Reviewing staff recommendations requiring action by or approval of agency leadership, Commissioners or the Chairman, to assure conformity with legal and policy criteria.
• Coordinating referrals to the Department of Justice for the institution of proceedings to enforce the collection of penalties or other agency orders under the shipping statutes, and upon such referrals, coordinating assistance to the Department of Justice; coordinating referrals to the Department of the Treasury for the collection of debts and penalties.
• Providing formal legal opinions to agency leadership, the Chairman, Commissioners, agency staff, and the general public in appropriate instances.

Candidates must meet the following by the close of the announcement:

1. Minimum educational requirements include a professional law degree (LLB or J.D.) from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school. NOTE: Applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside of the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. An ABA-approved law school may allow students to receive credit for law study or activities at a foreign institution and grant credit for the J.D. degree if those studies or activities are approved in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Criteria adopted by the ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
2. Current active membership in a bar of any State, territory, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia. Active bar association and a certificate that the member is in good standing will be verified prior to appointment and employees must maintain active bar membership in good standing while employed as an attorney with the FMC.
3. Applicants must possess excellent research and oral and written communication skills. Past supervisory experience, and experience in one or more of the following areas, are strongly preferred:

• Providing advice on regulatory strategy, Federal agency rulemakings, and the preparation of rulemaking notices and documents.
• Experience with antitrust review (or similar competition-focused frameworks) and the application of competition standards.
• Experience that demonstrates results-focused leadership.