Legal Administrative Specialist (Chief Clerk)

Legal Administrative Specialist (Chief Clerk)

Department: Department of Commerce

Location(s): Alexandria, Virginia

Salary Range: $121785 - $158322 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), Office of the Chief Administrative Trademark Judge. The TTAB hears and decides oppositions, cancellations, concurrent use proceedings, and appeals from examining attorneys' final refusals. The Office of the Chief Administrative Trademark Judge provides overall direction and guidance to TTAB legal, judicial, operational, and administrative functions.

Major Duties:

• The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Presence at the Alexandria, VA campus is required for this role, as it includes on site functions that must be performed in person. Position may be eligible for situational telework in accordance with agency policy/business unit discretion. The agency currently allows for 52 hours of telework per calendar year. This position serves as the Chief Clerk of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. This is your next ideal career move if: You have the ability to analyze cross-functional issues, assess legal/regulatory impacts on the division's legal/judicial programs, and propose operational improvements. You have a strong administrative background to oversee division legal work outcomes, spot issues needing executive decisions, and determine when to elevate matters to senior leadership. You can independently analyze litigation, case-review, and operational data; identify trends; and produce concise reports and visuals for senior leadership. You're a collaborative relationship builder and can engage with Senior Counsel, interlocutory attorneys, and judges; clarifying processes; liaise on remands/reconsiderations; handle escalations; and deliver onboarding/training. You have strong project management skills to lead projects and pilots; manage timelines and brief executives; develop implementation procedures; collaborate across Trademarks and division analysts; and maintain current technical Q&As for the division call center. You have a keen eye to draft orders; manage concurrent-use dockets/conversions; and serve as SME for remands/ex parte exceptions, appeals oversight, WIPO transmissions, judicial reviews, and letters rogatory.

Qualifications: You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available at General Legal and Kindred Administration Series 0901 Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-12. Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience working with, and understanding, trademark law, the Trademark Act, the Trademark Rules of Practice, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and controlling administrative and court precedents. Experience conducting legal research and writing, and drafting clear legally-sufficient orders, findings, legal documents, or instruments for issuance or submission under delegated authority. Experience serving as a focal point for resolving complex stakeholder questions, coordinating cross-functional resources, developing policy or process recommendations, and packaging complex findings into clear, actionable recommendations that enable senior leaders to make timely, informed decisions. Experience applying and understanding court and legal practices, terminology, and case flow management techniques, while reviewing and tracking decisions under judicial review at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and at U.S. District Court management techniques, while reviewing and tracking decisions under judicial review at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and at U.S. District Court. 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.

How to Apply: You MUST apply online. If you experience difficulties with the application process or do not have access to a computer, please contact the HR Specialist listed as the point of contact before the closing date of this job announcement. If you are a new user to the USAJobs Site and have never registered for an account; you will first need to create an account profile with your basic contact information and a resume to begin applying. You must be a registered USAJobs user AND you must be signed-in to your account in order to apply for this position. For help setting up an account or for general help using USAJobs, go to USAJobs Help Page. Once you have gathered all of the required information and are ready to begin the application process, click the "APPLY" button at the right side of the page. You will then be directed away from USAJobs to the Department of Commerce application site for USPTO. You must click "Submit" at the end of the application process to send your application for consideration. To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at http://www.usajobs.gov/ and click on "Applications." Click on the position title, then select "Update Application." If you experience any difficulties with the application site, OPM has a Help feature on each page. Use this option when you need assistance. All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJobs "Saved Documents" feature. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be traced back to a specific individual and potentially compromise their security or privacy. Examples of PII include: date of birth, Social Security Number, and place of birth. Please ensure that you have removed all Personally Identifiable Information from all documents prior to submitting or uploading your applications material.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-02