Board of Veterans Appeals (Attorney Advisor)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rumor is the quota dropped a little

The rumor is true to a certain extent. They’re also adding extra work that will not count toward quota and taking away some
Of the prorations.

[Anonymous]

Incredible! I didn't think I'd ever see the day that anything would improve there. Are attorneys happy? Or is it lip service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Incredible! I didn't think I'd ever see the day that anything would improve there. Are attorneys happy? Or is it lip service.

It's hard to tell, maybe a bit of both? It might also be related to all the Office of Special Counsel/Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection complaints that have been filed against Board management. While I don't think the OSC/OAWP complaints resulted in managers getting reassigned or disciplined (correct me if I'm wrong), perhaps the sheer number of OSC/OAWP complaints attracted the attention of the higher ups at VACO? Who knows?

When I first joined the Board, someone told me that there was a male attorney who filed an OSC complaint against upper Board management and that complaint took months if not years to resolve; I'm not sure what happened to him or the managers involved. Anyone know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Incredible! I didn't think I'd ever see the day that anything would improve there. Are attorneys happy? Or is it lip service.

Lip service.

[Anonymous]

This still has to be the worst atty job in the feds

[Anonymous]

To those of you who joined the Board this year, how are things going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This still has to be the worst atty job in the feds

This. Times a million. Definitely consider all of your options, including leaving the law or working at Starbucks, before coming to work for the Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This still has to be the worst atty job in the feds

This. Times a million. Definitely consider all of your options, including leaving the law or working at Starbucks, before coming to work for the Board.

Surely there are exit options once you get your foot in the door? I hear you can apply anywhere after a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This still has to be the worst atty job in the feds

This. Times a million. Definitely consider all of your options, including leaving the law or working at Starbucks, before coming to work for the Board.

Surely there are exit options once you get your foot in the door? I hear you can apply anywhere after a year.

Yes, there are exit options. But, the exit options are not good. A large percentage of attorneys who leave the the Board become decision writers at SSA, which is better in terms of quality of life, but worse in terms of salary. Also, keep in mind that management likes to fire people quickly. If management doesn’t like you, they’ll fire you or force you to resign approximately 9-10 months after your start date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This still has to be the worst atty job in the feds

This. Times a million. Definitely consider all of your options, including leaving the law or working at Starbucks, before coming to work for the Board.

Surely there are exit options once you get your foot in the door? I hear you can apply anywhere after a year.

Yes, there are exit options. But, the exit options are not good. A large percentage of attorneys who leave the the Board become decision writers at SSA, which is better in terms of quality of life, but worse in terms of salary. Also, keep in mind that management likes to fire people quickly. If management doesn’t like you, they’ll fire you or force you to resign approximately 9-10 months after your start date.

Beyond maybe the first year or two (if you’ve never practiced law before) you gain no marketable skills at the Board (other than the aforementioned SSA jobs). Otherwise, since you’re not practicing law you’re sort of treading water professionally. Yes, there are people who jump from the Board to other OGC type jobs, but most of them had prior experience or are superstars who would have ended up elsewhere anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This still has to be the worst atty job in the feds

This. Times a million. Definitely consider all of your options, including leaving the law or working at Starbucks, before coming to work for the Board.

The main draw of working at the Board is the ability to make a decent salary and work from home. For the foreseeable future, working from home will either be the norm or an option for most people. So whatever advantages the Board does offer are disappearing.

[Anonymous]

Under Trump's new executive order, any GS-13 or higher who directly reports or regularly works with an agency head or anyone appointed by the president will not be covered by Civil Service protections. Given that all Veterans Law Judges are appointed by the President, I think one can assume that all BVA writing attorneys who are GS-13 or higher are affected by the EO (assuming he wins reelection). I guess more people will be getting canned next year.

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2020/10/new-executive-order-may-reclassify-wide-swaths-of-career-positions-as-political-appointees/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Under Trump's new executive order, any GS-13 or higher who directly reports or regularly works with an agency head or anyone appointed by the president will not be covered by Civil Service protections. Given that all Veterans Law Judges are appointed by the President, I think one can assume that all BVA writing attorneys who are GS-13 or higher are affected by the EO (assuming he wins reelection). I guess more people will be getting canned next year.

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2020/10/new-executive-order-may-reclassify-wide-swaths-of-career-positions-as-political-appointees/

This looks bad and will hopefully not survive in the courts. Unfortunately decision writing attorneys have no protections anyway and are fired all the time. the union and the civil service protections are a joke for decision writing attorneys.

[Anonymous]

Aren’t all attorneys excepted service anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t all attorneys excepted service anyway?

Yes, attorneys are in the excepted service. But, they are still covered by Civil Service protections that require notice and due process prior to any adverse action. They can also challenge certain effectuated adverse actions, such as removals, by filing an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board. Under Trump's EO, countless federal employees, including BVA attorneys could be stripped by these protections and can fired without notice and due process and without any right to challenge the adverse action.