This position is located in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). The TTAB is an administrative tribunal within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that hears and decides trial level adversary proceedings involving two or more parties. These include oppositions, cancellations, and concurrent use proceedings. The TTAB also hears and decides appeals from final refusals issued by USPTO Trademark Examining Attorneys following review of applications to register marks.

Duties

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria,Virginia.This position is telework eligible per agency and business unit discretion/policy. This role is the ideal next career step for you if:

Requirements

• Applicants will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• You must meet the definition of Specialized experience AND Professional Experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov) Suitable for Federal employment.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a two-year trial period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• You must possess an ACTIVE Bar Membership of any state.
• You must possess a Law Degree.
• You must be suitable for Federal Employment.

Qualifications

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 listed below. GS-14: 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 three (3) years of the Professional Legal/Law Experience. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: (1) Experience performing comprehensive (full spectrum of a case with multiple issues) legal analysis and research in the area of trademark law; (2) Conducting legal analysis of procedural and substantive arguments from legal counsel or pro se parties in the area of trademark law; AND, (3)Independently drafting legally defensible opinions addressing the issues raised by said counsel or parties. 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. This experience is characterized by breadth and depth of experience in rendering professional legal advice and services with respect to questions, regulations, practices, or other matters falling within the purview of a Federal government agency, private sector, law firm, or other organization; preparing interpretative and administrative orders, rules, or regulations to give effect to the provisions of governing statutes or other requirements of law; drafting, negotiating, or examining contracts or other legal documents; representing parties in litigation or in proceedings before administrative tribunals; drafting pleadings and motions, and/or legal decisions and/or opinions; managing a docket of cases; drafting, preparing formal comments, or making substantive recommendations regarding proposed legislation; editing and preparing for publication statutes enacted by Congress and opinions or decisions of a court, commission, or board; drafting and reviewing decisions for consideration and adoption by an organization or official; adjudicating legal issues; conducting investigations to obtain facts; analyzing questions of law; studying, analyzing and evaluating legal precedents, to present findings. Demonstrated high quality legal writing skills are critical. Legal work is described as extremely complex and difficult and requires a high order of original and creative legal endeavor in balancing conflicting interests; has broad or wide-scope impact on an economy, industry, private or public interests; and may involve directly or indirectly very large sums of money. Work may also involve acting as principal attorney in charge of the preparation and presentation of cases; recommending policies and developing procedures and regulations to implement new or amended legislation; and acting as legal, general or senior counsel to a major firm or organization. GS-15: To qualify for this position at the GS-15 level, you must possess at least one (1) year of Specialized Experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level AND four (4) years of the Professional Legal/Law Experience. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: (1) Experience performing comprehensive (full spectrum of a case with multiple issues) legal analysis and research in the area of trademark law; (2) Conducting legal analysis of procedural and substantive arguments from legal counsel or pro se parties in the area of trademark law; AND, (3)Independently drafting legally defensible opinions addressing the issues raised by said counsel or parties. 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. This experience is characterized by breadth and depth of experience in rendering professional legal advice and services with respect to questions, regulations, practices, or other matters falling within the purview of a Federal government agency, private sector, law firm, or other organization; preparing interpretative and administrative orders, rules, or regulations to give effect to the provisions of governing statutes or other requirements of law; drafting, negotiating, or examining contracts or other legal documents; representing parties in litigation or in proceedings before administrative tribunals; drafting pleadings and motions, and/or legal decisions and/or opinions; managing a docket of cases; drafting, preparing formal comments, or making substantive recommendations regarding proposed legislation; editing and preparing for publication statutes enacted by Congress and opinions or decisions of a court, commission, or board; drafting and reviewing decisions for consideration and adoption by an organization or official; adjudicating legal issues; conducting investigations to obtain facts; analyzing questions of law; studying, analyzing and evaluating legal precedents, to present findings. Demonstrated high quality legal writing skills are critical. Legal work is described as extremely complex and difficult and requires a high order of original and creative legal endeavor in balancing conflicting interests; has broad or wide-scope impact on an economy, industry, private or public interests; and may involve directly or indirectly very large sums of money. Work may also involve acting as principal attorney in charge of the preparation and presentation of cases; recommending policies and developing procedures and regulations to implement new or amended legislation; and acting as legal, general or senior counsel to a major firm or organization. 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.

Education

To meet minimum eligibility requirements for this position, applicants must possess at least a Masters of Laws (LL.M.) degree or 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.

Contacts

• Address TMCO-Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Office of Human Resources Mail Stop 171 P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 US
• Name: Sherry Harrison
• Phone: 571-270-5235
• Email: [email protected]