Attorney Advisor (General)

Summary

This position is located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Office of Chief Counsel, Asset Forfeiture Section. The Office of Chief Counsel works with federal and state prosecutors, and federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to further DEA's mission. CC attorneys coordinate with DEA investigative personnel, provide legal training, and respond to requests for assistance from DEA Division Counsel.

Duties

The Asset Forfeiture Section is comprised of a team of professionals dedicated to deterring, disrupting, and dismantling criminal drug trafficking organizations with Asset Forfeiture. Administrative, Civil-Judicial, and Criminal Forfeiture deprives criminals of their illegal drug proceeds and disrupts drug trafficking by confiscating facilitating property. Duties of Asset Forfeiture attorneys include: Serving as a subject matter expert for search and seizure matters, complex asset forfeiture and money laundering law, policy, and practice; and reviewing pre-seizure probable cause determinations for legal sufficiency and ensuring due process is afforded to parties with a legal interest in seized property; Collaborating with HQ and Field DEA personnel responsible for asset forfeiture processing to ensure efficient and legally sufficient forfeiture cases; Partnering with DEA personnel and other federal, state, local, tribal, and international law enforcement agencies to strengthen drug-related financial investigations; and examining forfeiture notice and publication efforts for legal compliance; and issuing Declarations of Administrative Forfeiture; Representing DEA at meetings involving forfeiture matters and delivering legal instruction to DEA personnel as well as domestic and international partners; Liaising and supporting U.S. Attorney Offices and DOJ litigating components prosecuting and defending DEA forfeitures in judicial proceedings; and reviewing draft legislation, policy proposals, and assisting with responses to Congressional inquiries; Ruling on petitions for remission or mitigation of forfeiture; and deciding requests for equitable sharing of forfeited assets. Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. All applicants must be an active member of a bar in good standing (any U.S. jurisdiction) and possess: 1) a J.D. degree (or equivalent) and have at least 2-year post-J.D. (or equivalent) legal or other relevant experience; 2) excellent academic credentials; 3) strong oral and written advocacy skills; 4) superior legal research and analytical skills; and 5) a demonstrated ability to function with minimal guidance in a highly demanding environment. To qualify for each GS Level: Applicants applying for the GS-13 must have 2 or more years of post J.D. legal experience with federal administrative, civil-judicial, and/or criminal asset forfeiture cases. Applicants applying for the GS-14 must have 3 or more years of post J.D. legal experience with federal administrative, civil-judicial, and/or criminal asset forfeiture cases. Applicants must also have experience working in a collaborative interagency environment involved in the reviewing or editing of intra-agency policies, interagency agreements, or proposed legislation. Applicants applying for the GS-15 must have 4 or more years of post J.D. legal experience with federal administrative, civil-judicial, and/or criminal asset forfeiture cases. Applicants must also possess experience providing legal counsel on complex asset forfeiture, financial, and money laundering investigations, advising senior agency decisionmakers on complex legal or policy matters, and training law enforcement agents on asset forfeiture issues.

Education

A J.D. degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet these criteria, see www.ed.gov. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: ww.naces.org/members.php. How You Will Be Evaluated

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, writing sample, cover letter, transcripts, and bar membership), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. The assessment questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions which provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question in 200-words or less. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and have not used a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement. Other Information

For reasonable accommodation at the Drug Enforcement Administration, please contact the Human Resources office listed in this announcement. 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 5 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 listed in this announcement. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. Please notify this office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.