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Paralegal Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Aug 22, 2019
Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Smithsonian Institution, (SI), Washington, DC The employee provides legal support by performing general paralegal duties to support the attorneys of the OGC in all legal work of the office.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • Conducts searches of trademark registrations to determine that no similar mark is in use; prepares trademark applications.
  • Drafts and files responses to trademark office notices, monitors pending actual use and intent-to-use applications and monitors publication of new marks; maintains the Smithsonian's trademark print and electronic trademark files and keeps track of filing deadlines.
  • Responds to requests from various units for information and documentation concerning tax status.
  • Prepares applications including supporting documentations for submission to foreign taxing authorities, and prepares applications for submission to the IRS for U.S. residency certification letters.
  • Organizes, compile, and maintain documents and files related to transactional matters, contracts, grants, gifts, bequest, foreign transactions and operations, and other non-litigation matters..
  • Conduct relevant legal research using electronic and printed resources; prepares exhibits and other materials needed for administrative hearings and court cases.
  • Assists with planning, scheduling and administering an annual conference of Legal Issues in Museum Administration and a semi-annual meeting of museum attorneys.
  • Utilize computer-based systems to perform functions related to personnel actions, assignment of legal matters and website administration.


Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • Complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer


ATTENTION: Due to the large number of qualified applicants for positions of this type, this job announcement will close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either: (A) The closing date listed above or (B) The date that 200 applications are received; whichever occurs first. If the announcement closes on the date that 200 applications are received, all applications submitted by 11:59pm that day will be given consideration, including those in excess of 200.

We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible to ensure their applications are submitted before the announcement closes. We will not consider applications which are late due to the announcement closing once the above number of applications is reached.


Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position specialized experience is defined as experience processing a variety of legal documents; conducting research analysis and evaluation of data in response to complex sensitive request; processing and filing responses to trademark office; and preparing tax certifications for U.S. residency and other status. In addition, experience working with federal, state and international trademark laws and policies, and foreign and domestic taxing authorities is required.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: Three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D or equivalent degree related to the position may be substituted to meet the experience requirements.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards . Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Education

Additional information

Please see Benefits at www.sihr.si.edu for a complete description.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:
  • Knowledge of the policies, principles and techniques of fact-finding and investigating practices to register and/or resolve intellectual property matters including infringement, protections and abandonment regulations.
  • Skill interpreting and applying policy, principles and concepts to apply or explain to others the application of a body of law, regulations, and practices governing tax and regulatory matters.
  • Skill in performing a wide variety of transactional legal matters.
  • Ability to organize meetings, conferences and associated logistics.

Important Note:
Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience.

Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

If selected for an interview, you will be required to provide a writing sample.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:
  • Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. If you want to receive full credit for relevant experience your resume MUST contain the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary.

    USAJOBS has guidance on how to ensure that you submit a complete resume: If you have not written a Federal resume before, you may watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel , or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ article on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. If any of the above information is not included in your resume we may not be able to fully credit you for your experience.
  • Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
  • Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.


If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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