The Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is currently seeking applications for multiple Nonsupervisory Attorney (Intellectual Property) positions in its Public Health Division, National Institutes of Health Branch.
Who May Apply: This vacancy announcement is open to all US Citizens and may be used to fill multiple positions.
Duty Station: Bethesda, MD
Series & Grade: GS-0905-15
Full Performance Level: None
Salary Range: $169,279 - $197,200
Open Period: April 1, 2026 - until filled (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting April 8, 2026).
For specific wage information, refer to https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2026/general-schedule/
Job Summary:
The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking one or more attorneys to join the Public Health Division’s National Institutes of Health Branch. This supervisory position is in the Public Health Division, National Institutes of Health Branch. The NIH Branch of the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Office of the General Counsel, Public Health Division, is seeking a highly qualified Intellectual Property attorney to join our staff in providing in-house counsel to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other operating divisions within DHHS, primarily in the areas of patent, trademark, and copyright law as well as technology transfer matters. The NIH Branch comprises sixteen attorneys who provide comprehensive legal advice and services to NIH on a wide array of highly visible, complex, and often precedential public health matters. The attorney in this position will oversee other attorneys who focus on intellectual property and technology transfer matters and will report to the Deputy Associate General Counsel for Public Health, NIH.
The NIH conducts and supports research to help prevent, diagnose, and treat disease, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. Located on a 300-acre campus in Bethesda, MD, NIH has a budget of more than $40 billion and is comprised of 27 distinct Institutes and Centers with over 18,000 employees. These include the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Human Genome Research Institute, and the Clinical Center, NIH’s medical research hospital.
If selected, you will join a team of attorneys who advise the Department on matters relating to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), a unique public-private partnership that links all professionals and entities involved in the U.S. organ donation, procurement, and transplantation system.
For additional information about the OPTN, please visit the HHS website at: https://www.hrsa.gov/optn?from=optn.transplant.hrsa.gov
For additional information about OGC’s mission, please visit our website at: https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/ogc/index.html
Duties:
The chosen candidate(s) will serve as legal counsel to the National Institutes of Health Branch. Duties may include serving as the lead attorney on any of the following matters:
- Providing legal counsel on policy initiatives pertaining to organ procurement and transplantation.
- Interpreting federal statutes and regulations pertaining to organ procurement and transplantation.
- Researching novel legal issues and drafting legal opinions and options memos for policymakers.
- Supporting HHS’s compliance oversight of the OPTN’s operations, and entities within the organ procurement and transplantation system.
- Drafting regulations and advising on the rulemaking process.
- Providing litigation support in matters involving HHS.
- Advising on government awards in coordination with federal procurement law specialists.
- Briefing high-level policymakers within HHS on legal issues relating to organ procurement and transplantation.
- Contributing technical assistance on proposed legislation.
- Reviewing requests for agency records under the Freedom of Information Act.
- Assessing public-facing documents and internal memoranda for legal compliance.
We anticipate that intellectual property counseling will be a significant part of the new attorney’s duties, for clients across NIH and several other agencies of DHHS. This attorney will oversee other attorneys handling intellectual property and technology transfer matters. Applicants should be a registered patent attorney with an interest in practicing trademark, patent, and copyright law.
We are seeking to fill the positions at the GS-15 level ($169,279 - $197,200) depending on experience and qualifications.
Preferred Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will have significant prior experience advising entities within the nation’s organ procurement and transplantation system, and/or federal or state government compliance oversight.
In addition to experience specifically with organ procurement and transplantation matters and/or compliance oversight, the following qualifications are preferred:
Demonstrated ability to interpret laws, regulations, judicial decisions, Executive Orders, and statutes.
Demonstrated legal research abilities, including the ability to integrate and synthesize the facts and law to make legally sound recommendations pertaining to complex situations.
Demonstrated legal writing skills, including the ability to address both the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed legal position, to effectively write either objectively or persuasively, and to address concepts and issues in a manner well matched to the intended audience.
Demonstrated interpersonal and organizational skills, including the ability to work effectively both independently and in a collaborative environment.
The position will be located in Bethesda, MD. Reimbursement for relocation expenses is not available.
Qualifications Required:
Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the position qualifications listed on this announcement. Salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
At the GS-15: Applicants at the GS-15 level must have at least four years of professional legal experience post bar admission with one year of experience equivalent to the GS-14 level. Applicants at the GS-15 level must also have a demonstrated ability to work independently with minimum levels of supervision.
The following qualifications are required:
Conditions of Employment:
- You must possess a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from an accredited ABA law school.
- Have at least four years of experience after law school as a practicing attorney.
- Proof that bar status is active, in good standing and eligible to practice in the highest court of a State, U. S. commonwealth, U. S. territory, or the District of Columbia.
- Candidates must also have exemplary legal writing, analysis and oral advocacy abilities, and possess excellent interpersonal skills.
- It will be a plus for the candidate to have familiarity and experience with compliance oversight, regulatory drafting and development, litigation, and/or the organ procurement and transplantation system.
- Applicants should be a registered patent attorney with an interest in practicing trademark, patent, and copyright law.
- Must maintain active bar membership in good standing and the eligibility to practice law in the highest court of a state, territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia throughout employment in the Office of the General Counsel.
- Upon final job offer from HHS OHR, the successful candidate must submit official law school transcripts.
- Security and Background Requirements: If not previously completed, a background security investigation will be required for all appointees. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements may be grounds for appropriate personnel action. In addition, if hired, a background security reinvestigation or supplemental investigation may be required at a later time. Applicants are also advised that all information concerning qualifications is subject to investigation. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection and/or appropriate disciplinary action.
- E-Verify: If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System. Federal law requires DHS to use the E-Verify System to verify employment eligibility of all new hires and as a condition of continued employment obligates the new hire to take affirmative steps to resolve any discrepancies identified by the system. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an E-Verify Participant.
- Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
- All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
- Financial disclosure statement may be required.
- Two-year trial period may be required.
- Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid.
- This position is not in a bargaining unit.
- Multiple selections may be made from this announcement.
In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The Federal government, as the largest employer in the Nation, can and should show the way towards achieving drug-free workplaces through programs designed to offer drug users a helping hand, and at the same time demonstrating to drug users and potential drug users that drugs will not be tolerated in the Federal workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public. Applicants tentatively selected for this position may be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and be subject to reasonable suspicion and post-accident drug testing upon hiring. If required to submit to urinalysis, the appointment to the position will be contingent upon a negative applicant drug test result. In order to demonstrate commitment to the HHS goal of a drug-free workplace and to set an example for other Federal employees, employees not in a testing designated position may volunteer for unannounced random testing by notifying their Drug-free Federal Workplace Program Point of Contact upon hiring.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Instructions to Apply:
Please submit the following documents to OGCVacancy@mail.nih.gov to receive full consideration:
- Short cover letter addressed to David Lankford, Deputy Associate General Counsel for Public Health, NIH.
- Resume (must include education, including names of undergraduate and law school, degree received, and date graduated; date admitted to bar and jurisdiction; and a general description of all past employment relevant to the practice of law, including dates of employment (full time or part time)).
- One or two legal writing samples (no more than 10 pages).
- Law school transcripts.
- Proof that bar status is active, in good standing and eligible to practice in a state, territory of the US, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- Names and contact information for at least three professional references.