Assistant General Counsel

Smithsonian Institution · Washington, DC, US

Spotted 1d ago

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Job details

Pay: $143,913 – $187,093 a year
Work mode: Remote
Posted: Nov 4, 2026
Last confirmed open: Nov 5, 2026

Job description

About this role

Summary

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The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in in the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Office of General Counsel, Smithsonian Institution.

Learn more about this agency

Summary

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Learn more about this agency

Overview

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Accepting applications

Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

Washington, DC

FEW vacancies

No matching locations found.

Work site options

Telework eligible

Yes—as determined by the agency policy.

Remote job

Relocation expenses reimbursed

Salary

$143,913 - $187,093 per year

Pay scale & grade

GS 14

Promotion potential

Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule

Full-time - Full-Time, Permanent

Travel Required

Not required

Appointment type

Permanent - Federal

Occupations and job series

0905 Attorney

Supervisory status

Federal service type

This job is in the Excepted Service

Represented by a union

Drug test

Security clearance

Other

Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

Credentialing
Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure required

Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number

27R-CW-314873-OTH-OGC

Control number

891707100

This job is open to

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The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals.

Duties

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The Assistant General Counsel is responsible for providing professional legal services under the supervision of the Chief Legal Officer and the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation.

In this position, you will:

Represent the Smithsonian Institution in legal matters pending before federal adjudicating bodies (including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, Federal Courts of Appeal, and United States District Courts).
Conduct affirmative discovery and coordinate responses to discovery requests for matters filed in federal courts and federal administrative forums, including the preservation, identification and production of documents and responds to subpoenas.
Identify and prepare witnesses for depositions, hearings and administrative proceedings in several administrative forums.
Represent the Smithsonian in hearings and administrative proceedings in several federal administrative forums.
Advise the Chief Legal Officer and SI units on the defense or settlement of such claims and cases.
Collaborate with the Department of Justice on federal court litigation involving the Smithsonian, including claims under Title VII, ADEA, Rehabilitation Act, Equal Pay Act, Federal Tort Claims Act, bid protests, breach of contract, copyright infringement, property matters, and federal environmental laws.
Provide legal advice in matters related to federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the ADEA, the Rehabilitation Act (including requests for reasonable accommodation), the Federal Labor Relations Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the civil service laws; the Federal Tort Claims Act; Federal Acquisition Regulations and contract law; property law; and federal environment laws.
Provide legal advice in matters which affect the Institution’s operations and activities.
Promote and assist with the effective implementation of the Chief Legal Officer’s plans and priorities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
May need to complete a Probationary Period
Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Qualifications

There is no OPM qualification standard established for positions in the Attorney-Advisor, 0905 series, and agencies may establish their own standards for these Excepted Service positions.
The following minimum qualification requirements will be used to determine if applicants are eligible for further consideration: Education: Applicants must (1) possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.), LL.B or equivalent degree from a law school accredited by the American Association of Law Schools, and (2) be a member in good standing of the Bar of the State or the District of Columbia.
You MUST submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent.
An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Bar Membership

An applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the Bar of the highest court of any state, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory or the District of Columbia. (Submit a copy of your membership)

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess four (4) years of specialized legal experience relevant to the duties of the position, and which has enabled the applicant to perform complex legal work and to operate with a substantial degree of independence and responsibility at the grade 13 level.

For this position, specialized experience is defined as experience representing clients in all phases of litigation from the investigation, pleadings, and discovery stages through the pre-trial, trial, settlement, and appeal processes.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

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; religious; 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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Education

There is no basic education requirement.

Additional information

This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive

Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note

This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.

Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/

Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp

Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp

Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp

Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com

Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How you will be evaluated

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You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply to attorney positions. You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below. Applicants who meet the qualifications will be referred on a certificate for further consideration.

Knowledge of federal court and administrative litigation, including federal employment discrimination claims, federal tort claims, breach of contract claims, property, procurement, bid protest matters, and other federal laws affecting the Smithsonian.
Ability to simultaneously manage multiple matters and navigate a wide range of client interests and to apply sound legal judgment to complex issues as demonstrated by past professional experience.
Knowledge of federal court and administrative litigation, including federal employment discrimination, federal tort, breach of contract, property, procurement, bid protest, and other federal law claims affecting the Smithsonian.
Ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of personnel, including Smithsonian executive and program officers, officials from other federal and state agencies and legal organizations and businesses, as demonstrated by past professional experience.
Knowledge to gather and conduct research using legal and non-legal sources, formulate alternatives and to clearly communicate recommendations based on findings, as demonstrated by past professional experience.

Application of Veterans' Preference

Important Note: Attorney positions at the Smithsonian Institution fall under the Excepted Service, which does not use a formal numerical rating system for veteran's preference. Instead, we value your service and consider veteran's preference eligibility as a positive factor in our attorney hiring process.

If you are eligible, please highlight this in your cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation, such as your DD Form 214 or other substantiating document to your application.

Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system will not be considered for this position. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Candidates selected for an interview will be required to submit a previously authored legal document or memorandum as a writing sample.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Benefits

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The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.

Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/

Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp

Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp

Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp

Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com

Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

Required documents

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Required Documents

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Your application package should include the following documents:

Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), and hours worked per week, for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.

For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?

Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the Excepted Service.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

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Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:

You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages.
You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

Agency contact information

Carla Whittaker

Phone

202-633-0000

[email protected]

Address

SMITHSONIAN

Office of Human Resources

600 Maryland Avenue SW

Suite 7001W, MRC 517

Washington, DC, District of Columbia 20024

United States

Next steps

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt.

The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process.

You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing [email protected]; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:

Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer. Additional information can be found on our website at (www.si.edu/oeesd).

Fair and transparent

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The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy

Financial suitability New employee probationary period

Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy

Selective Service Signature and false statements

Social security number request