Federal Career Service Division

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The Federal Career Service Division is dedicated to issues affecting federal government attorneys. Its membership consists of present and former federal attorneys. The division has several committees and task forces, which are concerned with matters facing attorneys as professionals. The division addresses all aspects of the professional environment in which attorneys work, including: the hiring, classification, and qualifications for attorneys in government; and issues such as "soft landing" or "downsizing" of government attorneys. The division monitors proposed legislation affecting government attorneys; it takes positions on issues affecting them; and it participates as amicus curiae in appropriate court cases. The division holds monthly meetings, and it presents annual seminars.

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2010 Washington, D.C.–Baltimore Public Service Career Fair

This growing event will feature individual interviews as well as table talk opportunities with students from six area law schools. Last year’s fair brought more than 75 employers and 400+ students together to meet and discuss public interest and government opportunities in the Washington, D.C. area.

Information for Employers
Important Facts about the Career Fair
Employer Registration
How to Request a Schedule
Venue Information

Sponsored by American University Washington College of Law; The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law; Federal Bar Association; George Mason University School of Law; University of Baltimore School of Law; University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law; University of Maryland School of Law

Information for Employers
It is with great pleasure that we invite you to participate in the 8th annual Washington D.C./Baltimore Public Service Career Fair! We hope you will join us on Friday, January 29, 2010 at George Mason University School of Law. Last year’s event brought more than 75 employers and 400 students together through interviews, table talk sessions, or resume collections to meet and discuss public interest and government opportunities in the Washington, D.C. area.

Hosted by six area law schools and the Federal Bar Association, the career fair offers law students an opportunity to learn about participating organizations and agencies, including available summer and post-graduate positions. The career fair is an excellent opportunity for employers to meet talented students seeking public service careers, and for students to develop their job search strategies and interviewing skills.

There is no fee to participate in this fair. By registering through our online registration system, you can participate in this one-day event, which includes informal “table talk” and more structured interviews. If you are unable to attend, we can collect résumés on your behalf and send them to you after the event for your consideration.

We hope you can join us. Below are basic details about the fair and instructions on how to register online at https://law-dcpscf-csm.symplicity.com/employers. If you have any questions please contact the PSCF Coordinator at George Mason University School of Law, at lneff@gmu.edu or (703) 993-8179. Once you are registered, more detailed information will be provided. We hope to see you at the event in January!

Sincerely,

The Washington, DC/Baltimore Public Service Career Fair Consortium

Important Facts about the Career Fair

Date: Friday, January 29, 2010, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location: George Mason University School of Law, 3301 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 993-8020; (4 stops from downtown DC; Orange Line Metro to Virginia Square/GMU stop)

Important Facts
• Six participating law schools with more than 5,000 JD students.
• Co-sponsored by the Federal Bar Association.
• More than 75 public interest, government and other nonprofit employers participated in the 2007 job fair.
• Registration Deadline is Friday, December 11, 2009
• Employers can hold morning, afternoon or full day rounds of individual interviews, conduct morning, afternoon or full day table talk sessions, or simply collect resumes to review on their time. Lunch will be provided between the morning and afternoon sessions for all employers participating in Interviews or Table Talk sessions.

Individual Interviews
Students (including 1Ls) will bid for interviews based on the information provided by each employer. We will provide employers with the resumes of all students who placed a bid for an interview with their organization. Employers will then select the candidates they wish to interview. We ask that employers select at least one interview candidate from each participating law school per interview session (morning session - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., afternoon session - 1:10 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.). Employers are welcome to fill the remaining slots with students from any participating school. Space will be provided for twenty (20) minute individual student interviews during the morning and afternoon sessions.

Table Talk
During the Table Talk sessions, employers and students will have an opportunity to meet and talk informally. Employers will be assigned to tables and students will be free to walk around and talk to representatives. All student classes are permitted to participate, and students may bring resumes and provide them to employers. We encourage employers to bring brochures or other materials for students. Table Talk is available in a morning (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) and an afternoon (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) session. Employers can participate in one or both Table Talk sessions, and may also participate in Table Talk in addition to conducting formal interviews.

Resume Collection
Organizations that are unable to attend the career fair may elect to have the consortium collect and forward student résumés. If you are interested in Resume Collection only, please select this preference on the schedule request.

Employer Registration

To Register
Please register directly through the PSCF website at https://law-dcpscf-csm.symplicity.com/employers. Once you log on, click on the “Register” tab on the right and side and fill out the Profile. Required information is noted with a red asterisk. Once the Profile is complete, click on the “Submit” button on the bottom of the page. You will then receive a confirmation email, including your user name and password and additional information within 1-2 days.

How to Request a Schedule
After you receive your user name and password:
1. Log into the Washington, D.C./Baltimore Public Service Career Fair website at https://law-dcpscf-csm.symplicity.com/employers. Log-in using your email and the password that was emailed after you registered online.

2. At the Welcome Page, click on “View Schedule Requests” under the “Shortcuts” heading found to the right top side of the main page. Then select the “Request Schedule” button. Fill out the required fields on the schedule request form (see specific steps below). When you are done, select the “Submit” button. Please fill out a separate Schedule Request form for each session in which you wish to participate. For example, if you would like to participate in interviews in the morning, table talk in the afternoon, and resume collection as well, you would submit three separate schedule requests. If you would like to participate in interviews and table talk at the same time of day, please note that you will need to submit two schedule requests and have at least two representatives from your organization attend the career fair, one to cover each session.

If you would like to conduct INTERVIEWS at the career fair:
A. Under “Select Session” chose “Interviews”.
B. Move down to “Time Span” and select whether you would like to conduct interviews for the FULL DAY (9:30 a.m. - 4:10 p.m.), just the MORNING (9:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.), or just the AFTERNOON (1:10-4:10 p.m.).
C. Enter a “Position Description” or descriptions.
D. Select which “Class Years” you are interested in interviewing for your positions.
E. Select whether or not you are interested in interviewing LLM students.
F. Select if you would like to receive a cover letter in addition to a resume.
G. Describe any “Hiring Criteria” making sure to note whether such criteria is preferred or required.

If you would like to participate in TABLE TALK at the career fair:
A. Under “Select Session” chose “Table Talk.”
B. Move down to “Time Span” and select whether you would like to participate in table talk for the FULL DAY (10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.), just the MORNING (10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.), or just the AFTERNOON (1:10-3:00 p.m.).
C. Enter a “Position Description” or descriptions.
D. Select which “Class Years” you are interested for your positions.
E. Select whether or not you are interested in LLM students.

If you would like to participate by collecting RESUMES to review and interview at a time/place of your choosing:
A. Under “Select Session” chose “Interviews”.
B. Enter a “Position Description” or descriptions.
C. Select which “Class Years” you are interested in for your positions.
D. Select whether or not you are interested in LLM students.
E. elect if you would like to receive a cover letter in addition to a resume.
F. Describe any “Hiring Criteria” making sure to note whether such criteria is preferred or required

Employer Profile
We also encourage employers to fill out as much information in their “Profile” as possible, particularly the “Overview” section under the “Who We Are” tab. To do this, simply select the “Profile” tab on the upper left-hand side of the Welcome Page after you log in to the website. Providing this information is a great way to market your organization to participating students. Once you are in the Profile section, there are several tabs under which you can place additional information: “Who We Are,” “Key Statistics” and “Company Culture.”

Venue Information
Location: George Mason University School of Law, 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201, (703) 993-8020

The law school is a large, white, semi-round building located at 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia, and can be reached easily by Metro. The law school is located near the Virginia Square/GMU Metro stop on the Orange Line, only four stops outside of Washington, DC. Limited parking is available near the law school, however, we encourage you to take Metro or other public transportation, if possible.

To reach the law school by Metro, take the Orange Line to the Virginia Square/GMU Metro Station. As you come up the escalator, you will be on Monroe Street; Fairfax Drive will be behind you. Make a U-turn to get to Fairfax Drive. Cross Fairfax Drive to other side of street and turn right. Continue walking down Fairfax Drive (Past the FDIC and the George Mason Original Building) to George Mason University School of Law, which is on the corner of Fairfax and Kirkwood.

Questions? Call or email the PSCF Coordinator at George Mason University School of Law at (703) 993-8179 or lneff@gmu.edu.

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Newsletters

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Announcements

The division is involved in a number of ongoing projects regarding federal attorneys' pay and job security. Current and recent division projects include:

Participating, both as a division and through the Coalition for Effective Change, in a new U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Project to revise the federal pay system;
Consulting with OPM on a contemplated revision to the classification standard for federal attorneys' positions (currently known as GS'05'), covering positions from GS-9 through GS-15;
Actively supporting changes in the Judge Advocate General Program in the Armed Forces in order to help military lawyers who have relatively low salaries (when compared with "civilian" lawyers' salaries) cope with an often substantial amount of law school debt;
Monitoring and, as appropriate, taking positions on proposed federal legislation affecting government attorneys;
Finally, one of the Division's major initiatives is how to attract, involve, and retain more federal government attorneys as both FBA and division members. Watch for updates on this and other projects on this Web page and in the division's newsletter First Thursday.

OPM White Paper on Federal Pay

Human Capital Act S. 1603

Analysis of Human Capital Act

Retirement Funding Letter

IRS Changes Letter

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