Your steps to apply

Trial Attorney
Offices, Boards and Divisions · Washington, District of Columbia · Closes in 2 days

1 Check you can apply
2 Resume and documents
3 Apply on USAJOBS
4 After you apply

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1 Check you can apply You are here

Who can apply: Individuals with disabilities, Veterans, The public.

Open to U.S. citizens, including veterans and people with disabilities who qualify under Schedule A. You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify.

Experience: To qualify at GS-13, you need at least 1.5 years of legal experience after your J.D., one year of it at GS-12 level. To qualify at GS-14, you need 2.5 years after your J.D., one year at GS-13 level. To qualify at GS-15, you need 4 years after your J.D., one year at GS-14 level.

Education: A J.D., or equivalent, degree is required. Applicants with an equivalent degree rather than a J.D. may get additional review. Education must come from a school accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting body.

Licenses and certifications:

Active membership in good standing in the bar of a U.S. state, territory, or the District of Columbia

Experience can be paid or unpaid, volunteer work included: if it matches the duties, it counts. The full rules are in the announcement.

2 Resume and documents

Write a federal resume for this job. For each job you held, give the month and year you started and ended, your hours per week and what you did, using the words of the experience the announcement asks for. Many announcements accept resumes of up to 2 pages: check this one.

Resume ready: dates, hours per week, duties Cover letter highlighting relevant experience Resume of no more than 2 pages, with your J.D. date, month and year for each job, start and end dates, and hours per week Legal writing sample of no more than 10 pages that is your own work Assessment questionnaire completed online Schedule A disability documentation, if applicable SF-50 if you are or were a political appointee DD-214 and other proof, plus SF-15 for 10-point veterans preference, if applicable

3 Apply on USAJOBS

Closes in 2 days (October 30, until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time).

You sign in to USAJOBS with a Login.gov account, answer the questionnaire and upload your documents, then you submit. Answer the questionnaire honestly: your resume must show what you claim.

How they rate you: Your application is rated against the qualifications, and your answers on the online assessment questionnaire are also compared. Errors or missing information may lower your rating or make you ineligible.

Apply on USAJOBS ↗

4 After you apply

In USAJOBS, under Applications, you can see where your application stands: received, reviewed, referred to the hiring manager or not, then selected or not. It can take a few weeks.

For the interview, prepare three examples with the STAR method: the Situation, the Task, what you did (Action) and the Result.

If they choose you: a tentative offer, then a background check, a security clearance (Other), then the final offer with your start date.

Tips for this job:

Your resume must show your J.D. date and hours per week for each job, or you may be marked ineligible.
Submit a legal writing sample of 10 pages or less, or you will be marked ineligible.
Application closes at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on 10/30/2026, and you must click Submit My Answers at the end.

Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.