Education Requirement. All Attorney and Law Clerk Trainee positions have a minimum requirement of completing a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.) from and accredited school.
Bar Membership. All Attorney positions require a current, active bar membership. Admission to the bar of any State, territory, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, or Federal Court is acceptable. Employees must maintain active bar membership while employed as an Attorney with FERC. Active Bar membership is verified prior to appointment.
Qualifications. Attorney qualification requirements (one year of legal experience may be credited if the applicant possesses any one or a combination of the following special qualifications):
- A judicial clerkship following law school graduation,
- One year of substantial Commission-related legal experience (e.g., working directly for a state public utility commissioner, direct and substantial involvement in one or more appeals of FERC orders),
- One year of significant non-legal work experience in a field related to the position for which the applicant is being considered (e.g., working with the Commission's regulations), OR
- A second professional law degree (Master of Law/LL.M.).
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Qualifications Chart |
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|
GS Level |
J.D. or L.L.B. |
Bar Membership |
Legal Experience Requirements |
|
GS-11 |
X |
X |
None |
|
GS-11 (Law Clerk trainees) |
X |
|
Law school graduates who have not yet been admitted to the bar and who have not served in a judicial clerkship may be temporarily employed at the GS-11 level, NTE 14 months as law clerk trainees |
|
GS-12 |
X |
X |
1 year of professional legal experience post bar admission equivalent to the GS-11 level |
|
GS-12 (Law Clerk trainees) |
X |
|
Law school graduates who have not yet been admitted to the bar and who have served one year in a judicial clerkship may be temporarily employed at the GS-12 level, NTE 14 months as law clerk trainees |
|
GS-13 |
X |
X |
2 years of professional legal experience post bar admission, with one year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 level |
|
GS-14 |
X |
X |
3 years of professional legal experience post bar admission with one year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 level |
|
GS-15 |
X |
X |
4 years of professional legal experience post bar admission with one year of experience equivalent to the GS-14 level |
* OPM does not issue qualification standards for Attorney (0905) and Law Clerk (0904) positions and delegates responsibility to agencies. The hiring manager determines what constitutes equivalent experience for each GS level, consistent with the duties of the position.
* Interns (0999) may be evaluated against either agency-developed standards or the OPM Schedule D Group Qualification Standards for Intern positions (5 CFR 362.203(c)).