Attorney Advisor

Summary

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of the Chief Counsel, is responsible for rendering legal services and furnishing legal advice on all areas of FHWA program responsibility. The Attorney-Advisor will serve as a member of the Office of the Chief Counsel, Field Legal Services-West, Lakewood, CO or Matteson, IL., with a primary practice area of environmental law.

Duties

As an Attorney-Advisor, the successful candidate for this position will be responsible for rendering legal services and furnishing legal advice on aspects of all areas of Division responsibility, with an emphasis on environmental and infrastructure issues. Such legal services and advice significantly affect policy of the programs of the agency. The legal services are delivered in a highly interactive, fast-paced environment, and often on short timelines. The functions of Field Legal Services-West Division include, but are not limited to: Planning, Environment, and Realty: Provides legal services as to matters related to statewide and regional transportation planning. Provides legal services in connection with environmental, social, and economic aspects of FHWA's programs, and the application of environmental laws to those programs. Provides legal services relative to highway beautification, land acquisition, land use, condemnation, control of rights of way, airspace utilization, and relocation assistance. Environmental and Other Litigation: Provides legal services in connection with litigation involving planning, environment, real estate, infrastructure, DBE, civil rights, and other external matters. Assists field counsel, Department of Justice, DOT Office of General Counsel, and State attorneys when appropriate. Infrastructure: Provides legal services in connection with contract matters. Provides legal services in connection with toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries. Provides legal advice and services related to current and innovative financing of highway projects, and public/private partnerships (PPPs). Provides legal services associated with Federal-aid suspensions and debarments, and infrastructure related Federal tort matters (including assistance to counsel located in the field). Provides legal services in connection with the Emergency Relief Program. Fiscal Services: Provides legal assistance regarding determinations of eligibility for Federal funding, authorizations, Federal-aid apportionments, limitations, and related external budgetary and fiscal matters. Safety and Operations: Provides legal advice and services related to Federal aid highway safety programs, such as the Hazard Elimination Program, the Highway/Rail Safety Crossing Program, and those safety programs jointly administered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including the review of State compliance with Federal requirements. Provides legal advice and services related to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), and truck size and weight limits. Other Matters: Provides legal advice and services related to other matters which are assigned by the Chief Counsel, Deputy Chief Counsel, or Assistant Chief Counsel. The ideal candidate for this position is an individual with a demonstrated interest in, and work experience related to environmental and infrastructure issues. The ideal candidate has excellent legal research and writing skills, who can handle and prioritize multiple competing tasks and a diverse workload while maintaining collegial working relationships. The ideal candidate will provide a cover letter (maximum two pages) explaining his/her specific interest in this position and highlighting his/her relevant work experience regarding environmental and infrastructure issues.

Requirements

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: Proof of Bar Membership is REQUIRED. SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service. TRIAL PERIOD: This is an Excepted Service position. This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Applicants may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. ETHICS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263. WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested.

Qualifications and evaluation

Please be clear and specific when describing your experience, as HR evaluates applications strictly on the facts provided and will not make assumptions. To receive full credit, your narrative responses must be written in paragraph format and explicitly match your resume. Begin each response by listing the exact position title, organization, employment dates (MM/YYYY–MM/YYYY), full- or part-time status, average weekly hours, and federal series/grade (if applicable). Within the body of the paragraph, clearly describe your specific duties, actions taken, tools used, and measurable outcomes. HR will cross-check these details against your resume; if your resume does not fully support every claim and timeframe, the experience will not be considered for credit, which may result in an ineligible determination. You will not be considered for the position if any part of the application or supporting documentation is incomplete. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or adverse action after hiring. Applicants will not be rated or ranked. All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official. You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: In order to qualify for this position, candidates must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have a professional law degree, and must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

How to apply

To be considered, you must submit all required resume details and applicable documents no later than 11:59 (EST) by the closing date of the announcement. Note: Uploading documents to USAJobs does not automatically attach them to this application. You must review and verify that all files are successfully transferred to our system before final submission. Late or incomplete applications will be disqualified. To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting. Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire. You may review your saved application(s) at https://help.usajobs.gov/ If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at Transjobs@dot.gov.

Required documents

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position. Please review each of the following sections to determine which documents you need to provide with your application. RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application. These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages. Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time (e.g., Program Analyst, GS-343-11 | January 2009–Present | 40 Hours/Week) and position titles. If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level. The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/ COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE. PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP: Must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia. TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - click here. WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested. VETERANS: Department of Transportation attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Transportation considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with supporting documentation, e.g., SF15, DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation. SPECIAL ATTENTION: To be considered, you must submit all required resume details and applicable documents by the closing date of the announcement. Note: You must review and verify that all files are successfully transferred to our system before final submission.

Additional information

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will 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 2-year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. INTERVIEW PROCESS: Applicants who are invited to advance to a later stage of the hiring process may be afforded one or more interviews and asked to complete a practical exercise and/or provide a writing sample. The results of the interview(s), practical exercise, and writing sample will be considered in the hiring process. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.