General Attorney (Veterans)

US General Counsel; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of the General Counsel, seeks an Attorney to provide legal advice and draft administrative decisions on VA benefits matters.

The position focuses on benefits law, oversight of attorneys, claims agents, and VSOs, and involves constitutional law, administrative law, professional responsibility, and litigation procedure. Applicants must be bar members and meet all requirements by 11/17/2026.

Qualifications

• Four years of progressively responsible legal experience, may include pre-bar experience.
• Experience includes research, statutes interpretation, and drafting legal opinions.
• Education may substitute for experience: an LL.M. or JD in a relevant field.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice and draft administrative decisions on VA benefits matters.
• Oversee attorneys, claims agents, and veterans service organizations (VSOs).
• Work on constitutional law, administrative law, professional responsibility, and litigation procedures.

Skills

Legal research

Statutory interpretation

Regulatory drafting

Legal writing

Litigation procedures

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Master of Laws (LL.M.)

Job description

The position is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The Attorney provides legal advice and drafts administrative decisions on complex matters arising under the laws VA administers. The position focuses on VA benefits law and the oversight of attorneys, claims agents, and veterans service organizations (VSOs), and often involves constitutional law, administrative law, professional responsibility, and litigation procedure. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/17/2026.

Basic Requirements

• All attorneys in the GS-0905 series must be active members in good standing of the bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia and must hold a current, unrestricted license to practice law.

Quality of Experience

Applicants must possess a total of four years of progressively responsible experience, which can include one year of relevant experience gained before admission to the bar. This experience can be from one or a combination of the following types:

• Practice of law includes private, state, or Federal practice in any field of law.
• Other legal experience of a responsible nature is experience in any one or a combination of the following performed in a law office, government office, or in the legal department of a business establishment, in the armed forces, or other Federal service:
• Conducting legal research, analyzing statutes, writing legal opinions
• Writing authoritative or advisory legal opinions involving interpretation of state or Federal laws, regulations, and orders, or the drafting of such regulations or orders; or
• Drafting, analyzing, and other legal activities with respect to bills, regulations, Executive Orders, proclamations, or statutory provisions.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of experience or less in the practice of law or meets qualification through the Superior Qualification Program.
• GS-12 Specialized Experience: Possession of a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree OR possession of a Juris Doctor (JD) degree in a field of law directly pertinent to the work of the position to be filled as evidenced by transcripts and identified as a selective factor in the position description or subsequent position descriptions in a position ladder OR Two years of progressively responsible experience as described in paragraph 3a of which a maximum of one year of the required experience may be acquired prior to admission to the bar, and that demonstrates experience performing similar legal work and responsibilities as described in Nature of Cases or Legal Problems, Type I, in the OPM Position Classification Standard for General Attorney Series, GS-0905 OR meets qualification through the Superior Qualification Program Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have possession of a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree.
• GS-13 Specialized Experience: Three years of progressively responsible experience as described in paragraph 3a, of which a maximum of one year of the required experience may be acquired prior to admission to the bar, and that demonstrates experience performing similar work and responsibilities as described in Nature of Cases or Legal Problems, Type II, in the OPM Position Classification Standard for General Attorney Series, GS-0905.
• GS-14 Specialized Experience: Four years of progressively responsible experience as described in paragraph 3a, of which a maximum of one year of the required experience may be acquired prior to admission to the bar, and that demonstrates experience performing similar work and responsibilities as described in Nature of Cases or Legal Problems, Type III and Level of Responsibility D in the OPM Position Classification Standard for General Attorney Series, GS-0905.

Competencies for this position

• Customer Service
• Attention to Detail
• Decisiveness
• Writing
• Decision making
• Oral Communications
• Planning and Evaluating
• Reasoning
• Strategic Thinking
• Written Communication
• Technical Competence
• Decision Support

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; religions; 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.

Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list the grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements

The work is primarily sedentary. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Local Commuting Area

The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420.