Appellate Litigation Attorney

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of General Counsel

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

GS
-11/14 DOE

Salary $85,447-$187,093 per year DOE

QUALIFICATIONS:

BAR MEMBERSHIP:
Currently an active member in good standing of the bar of a state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and must maintain that status throughout the course of employment.

CITIZENSHIP:
Must be a citizen of the United States.

EDUCATION:
Successful completion of a full course of study (JD) in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).

Preferred Experience:
Appeals, Strong writing skills, Ability to handle high case loads, previous law clerk experience, appellate litigation, appeals, oral advocacy, journal, law review, writing fellow, JAG, Veterans law, and/or previous Moot court participation.

Summary:

The mission of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) is to identify and meet the legal needs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Its primary objective is to ensure the just and faithful execution of the laws, regulations and policies that the Secretary has responsibility for administering, and by so doing enable the Department to accomplish its mission of service to our Nation's veterans.

The General Counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs issues written legal opinions having precedential effect in adjudications and appeals involving veterans' benefits under laws administered by VA. The General Counsel's interpretations on legal matters, contained in such opinions, are conclusive as to all VA officials and employees not only in the matter at issue but also in future adjudications and appeals, in the absence of a change in controlling statute or regulation, Court decision, or a superseding written legal opinion of the General Counsel.

VA provides these opinions in order to give the public notice of those interpretations of the General Counsel that must be followed in future benefit matters and to assist veterans' benefit claimants and their representatives in the prosecution of benefit claim.

About the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC)

In enacting the Veterans' Judicial Review Act (Pub. L. No. 100-687) on November 18, 1988, Congress created a special federal court of appeals under Article I of the U.S. Constitution for veterans and their families. Originally named the United States Court of Veterans Appeals (COVA), its name was later changed by the Veterans' Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (Pub. L. No.

105-368).

The CAVC sits in Washington, D.C. Its judges are appointed by the President, and confirmed by the Senate, for 15-year terms. The law that created the CAVC can be found in chapter 72 of title 38, United States Code.

The CAVC is an independent federal court. It is not part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Nearly 8,500 new appeals were filed with the Court last year. In cases coming before the CAVC, the person seeking benefits from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is called the appellant. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs is called the appellee in these cases, and is represented before the CAVC by attorneys in the Veterans Court Litigation Group of VA’s Office of the General Counsel.

The CAVC reviews final decisions of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). Only the person seeking VA benefits may appeal. Most cases appealed to the CAVC deal with entitlement to disability or survivor benefits, or the amount of compensation for those benefits, but some deal with education assistance, medical care, life insurance, home loan foreclosure, or waiver of indebtedness.

Because the CAVC is a court of appeals, it does not conduct trials or take new evidence. It bases its review on the same evidence that was before the BVA when the BVA rendered the decision being appealed. In the majority of cases decided by the CAVC, the appellant has retained an attorney or a non-attorney practitioner who is versed in veterans law.

Many attorney and non-attorney practitioners provide their legal services free of charge. There is a Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program that recruits and trains volunteer attorneys to assist…