Reply to Board of Veterans Appeals (Attorney Advisor)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]The ability to learn new areas of the CFR quickly and apply it to the task at hand is a highly transferable skill within the federal Gvt. The production requirement just shows how quickly and efficiently one can work [even if they aren’t making production but are close]. I know agencies that love getting prior BVA-attorneys because they know they work quickly and efficiently and are used to navigating complex areas of the law. Doesn’t matter that they are switching to another area of the law - if you can grasp veterans benefits law, you can learn anything.[/quote]

Not PP, and I have never worked at BVA, but over the course of my 25 year legal career, I have worked at five different Federal agencies and have been a first line supervisor at two.  Generally, that is not how Federal hiring managers think of things.  They would prefer that people have experience in the particular area of law for which they are being hired, not generalized ability to apply sections of the CFR that have nothing to do with the practice area for which they are being hired.   Also, any legal positions that are not solely writing-based will generally want experience in other areas of legal practice (e.g. providing advice to clients at meetings, taking depositions and discovery, negotiating with opposing counsel, regulation review, comments on legistlation).

I have no view on whether BVA is a good place to work, but it would not be considered transferrable.[/quote]

Thank you for your comment. I agree with you completely. I always thought it was common sense that hiring managers want someone with specific experience in the field, rather than a generalized ability to apply the CFR to unrelated areas of the law. But, apparently our friend over there thinks that hiring managers at DOJ, SEC, EPA, DOT, etc., love hiring BVA attorneys who can quickly review hundreds of pages of medical records and the CFR to determine whether someone has a service connected disability. I'm sure that the ranks of the Office of the Solicitor General and DOJ Civil Division and Civil Rights Division are teeming with former BVA attorneys, as they have have a well honed ability to quickly apply the CFR. Alas, in the real world, this isn't the case.

[b]In the real world, the only federal agency that loves BVA attorneys is the Social Security Administration, which also handles disability benefits matters. Many SSA attorneys transfer to BVA for the GS-14 potential.  A lot of BVA attorneys also transfer to SSA. But, in transferring to SSA, BVA attorneys go from a job that has GS-14 potential to one that has GS-12 potential. This is not a good exit option in my book. BVA provides no transferable skills - some BVA attorneys are able to transfer to more prestigious agencies because they have prior litigation experience or prior related experience and not because of the skills gained at BVA.[/b]
[/quote]

This.  Come to BVA with prior experience?  Great, use your prior experience to get out.  But your experience at BVA won't help you get a job anywhere other than SSA.  [/quote]

I left BVA for another agency and BVA was my first job after law school. [/quote]

Are you in a decision writing job at your new agency?

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