Chief Litigation Counsel

Salary: $151,661.00 to $228,000.00 Per Year

The Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking an individual to serve as Chief Litigation Counsel, which is a Senior Level Attorney position in its Torts Branch - Aviation, Space, & Admiralty Section.

Major duties

The Aviation, Space, and Admiralty Section of the Torts Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, seeks an exceptional attorney for its Chief Litigation Counsel position. The Branch's substantive work is organized into three subject-matter areas: (1) ASA handles a variety of litigation that falls under admiralty jurisdiction, including maritime tort, maritime contract, and vessel pollution cases including environmental actions such as those arising from vessel oil spills; (2) ASA handles a variety of aviation litigation, including litigation that arises from the government's varied activities in the regulation of air commerce, the operation of the nation's air traffic control system, and the government's operation of its own civil and military aircraft; (3) ASA handles a variety of litigation arising from space launch or space vehicle incidents. As Chief Litigation Counsel, you will serve as a lead expert on some of the Department's most complex and high-visibility litigation arising from one or more of these core subject-matter areas, in an extremely fast-paced environment. Though you may work across these areas as is necessary, you will lead and mentor attorneys and case teams and work closely with the most senior officials within the Branch and the Division. General duties may include: Litigating complex, high-visibility cases brought against the United States, including sensitive cases of substantial public and congressional interest; providing advice and making formal recommendations to the most senior officials in the Division and across the Department of Justice on district court, appellate, and other matters of interest; and developing key litigation strategies in complex and precedent-setting Torts cases; Acting as team lead on complex legal matters; providing counsel to the Director on issues of strategy for ASA; and providing advice to the Director on necessary training for attorneys and support staff; Analyzing and reviewing proposed and pending legislation that may be relevant to the work of the Torts Branch; Preparing appellate briefs and conducting arguments in the Court of Appeals, coordinating with the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division and the Office of the Solicitor General within the Department of Justice.

Qualifications

Candidates must possess at least 4 years of post J.D. (or equivalent) legal or other relevant experience. Candidates must also demonstrate technical expertise in the following subject-matter areas on their two-page resume and in an interview. The incumbent is expected to be highly knowledgeable in the following areas. Demonstrated expertise and experience in personally handling exceptionally challenging and precedential cases that fall under aviation and/or admiralty jurisdiction. Demonstrated ability to review and ensure the highest quality of work product of attorneys in sensitive, controversial, and/or high visibility aviation, space, and/or admiralty litigation under short timeframes.