Air Force Civilian Career Training
LAW CLERK
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Summary
Applicants must have completed their law degree from a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) within the previous two years or is a third year law student. Applicants must also have demonstrated superior law student work or activities, as demonstrated by one of the following: Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class; Work or achievement of significance on one of the law school's official law reviews or journals; Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school (e.g., membership in the Order of the Coif, winning a moot court competition, or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools); Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program, as opposed to one time, intermittent, or casual participation; Significant summer law office clerk experience; or Other evidence of clearly superior accomplishment or achievement. Finally, applicants must have a Grade Point average of 2.95 or higher. Any individual appointed as a law clerk may serve for no more than 14 months before being admitted to the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, a U.S. territory, or a U.S. commonwealth. Any individual who fails to be admitted to such bar within 14 months of appointment from the date of appointment shall be separated. Law clerks may convert to an entry-level attorney (0905) position after demonstration of satisfactory employment as a law clerk and admittance to a bar of a U.S. state, territory, or commonwealth. Department of the Air Force attorneys must remain in good standing and in active (or equivalent) status in at least one jurisdiction during their entire course of employment with the Department of the Air Force. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Knowledge of legal systems, principles, research and writing. Skill and ability to identify legal issues, cite applicable law, and determine if precedents are involved. Skill in writing legal opinions and memoranda. Skill in identifying and understanding issues, options and recommending courses of action. Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse group of individuals, in and outside the legal profession, both orally and in writing, in both formal and informal settings. Ability to prepare cases for litigation, to include interviewing witnesses and collecting and organizing evidence. PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Major Duties
- Assists military and civilian attorneys in rendering legal advice and litigating matters which may involve government contracts, labor and employment, environmental law, torts, administrative law, legal assistance and other areas in support of Air and Space Force missions and personnel. - Drafts and edits legal opinions and memoranda, motions, discovery documents, briefs, and other documents under the supervision of senior attorneys. - With assistance from other attorneys, performs other duties as assigned in support of the work of the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.
Required Documents
The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming. Click here to view the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide and the required documents you must submit to substantiate the eligibilities you are claiming. Online Application: Questionnaire Resume: Your resume may NOT exceed two pages, and the font size should not be smaller than 10 pts. You will not be considered for this vacancy if your resume is illegible/unreadable. Additional information on resume requirements can be located under "How To Apply". License: At the time of application, you must provide proof, dated within four months of application, of "active" status with a bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. On-line information is allowed as long as it shows that you are in "active" status. ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: The VOW Act requires federal agencies to treat an eligible active duty service member as a veteran, disabled veteran, and preference eligible (as applicable) when applying for civil service positions before the effective release or discharge date. Appointment of military members before the release or discharge date is permissible if the member is on terminal leave. At the time the active duty member applies for a civil position, he or she must submit a "certification" memo in lieu of a DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. The certification memo must originate from the member's military service branch on official letterhead and contain the following: Name/Rank/Grade of Service Member Branch of Armed Forces Dates of Active Service (Start and End Date(s) Expected Date of Discharge/Release from Active Duty Terminal leave start date (if applicable) Expected character of service/discharge (honorable/general) and type of separation (i.e. separation or retirement) Must be certified within 120 days of anticipated discharge Signature by, or by direction of the adjutant, personnel office, unit commander, or higher headquarters commander NOTE: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If appointed, a DD Form 214 must be submitted upon receipt. NOTICE OF VETERANS' PREFERENCE: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation to their submissions. Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim Veterans Preference must submit VOW certification memo or copy of the official DD Form 214, which must include the character of service, and a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. (SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov.) Position locations may vary from listed locations. Total salary varies depending on location of position. NOTE: Applicants for attorney appointments do not require veterans' preference in order to be eligible for consideration.
How to Apply
The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/30/2027 To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13080706 To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the application questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Application button at the end of the process. To receive further consideration, YOU MUST log in to https://afciviliancareers.com/recentgraduates/ . Once there, select the "Apply Now" button. You will be directed to Hire Vue to begin your application. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Your Resume. If you submit more than one resume, only the most recent will be reviewed. The "most recent" is considered the resume with the latest timestamp. Resumes may not exceed two pages. The two-page resume ensures the most relevant experience is reviewed and considered, which is a common practice in both the public and private sectors. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Additional information on how to complete or update your resume may be located here. For qualification determination your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient, and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Current Federal Civilian Employees may list any relevant performance related rating (given within the last three years) and/or incentive awards in your resume. Do NOT include photographs, inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. If the resume you submit contains such information you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your name, first and last, MUST be included on your resume. 2. A complete Application Questionnaire 3. Additional Required Documents (see Required Documents section). Ensure all submitted documents contain your full name. 4. Help recruiters find you. Make your resume and profile searchable, which means recruiters may contact you about possible jobs. Additional information may be located here. 5. Optional Documents: Performance Appraisals for Current Federal Civilian Employees - Most recent performance appraisals (dated within last 3 years) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. You can access your USAJOBS account to do so by clicking here. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.