Duties

Summary

This is a Paralegal Specialist position in the Recent Graduate program, located in the Department of Justice, National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. This is a one year program. The incumbent of this position will support the Chief, Deputy Chiefs, and Trial Attorneys with paralegal work, such as researching court decisions, collecting information and compiling case file documents, utilizing various automated systems, and monitoring pending cases.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Performs research and interpretation of statutes, legislative intent and history, judicial precedents, legal decisions and opinions, and agency rules and regulations.

Reads case law and decisions on appeals to ensure sound decisions in case recommendations and research.

Advises attorneys on the merits and weaknesses of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests and related case file information.

Monitors pending cases progress to ensure attorneys meet critical deadlines.

Travel Required

25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• You must successfully pass a security/background investigation and drug screening.
• You may be required to complete a one-year trial period.
• Selective Service registration is required, see the Additional Information section of this announcement for full details.
• Under Pathways Recent Graduate regulations, you are eligible only if you have graduated from an academic program of study or earned your degree within the past two years.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Clearance with access to sensitive compartmentalized information.
• You must successfully complete the Recent Graduate program in order to be considered for non-competitive conversion to a permanent, career or career-conditional appointment in the Competitive service.
• You must complete at least 40 hours of formal interactive training during your one-year program.

Qualifications

This is a Recent Graduate position. If you are appointed to a position under this program, you will need to complete a requisite number of work and training hours, based on the agreement you will complete with the hiring office and the agency Pathways Program Coordinator. After completing the required number of work and training hours, and meeting all other program requirements, you may be eligible for a conversion to a term or permanent appointment in the Competitive service. To learn more about the specific requirements and conditions of the Pathways Recent Graduate program, please see the USAJOBS Students & Recent Graduates .

You must also meet minimal eligibility and qualification requirements as described below. Please pay careful attention to the entire announcement to ensure you understand these important requirements. To qualify for the position of Paralegal Specialist (GS-0950-7/9),

For the GS-7 grade-level, you must:
- Possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-5 or equivalent pay band in the Federal service. Examples of equivalent experience are work with higher-level individuals to research and obtain information relevant to cases; conduct research for academics; review business or legal documents for accuracy; search various databases, websites, and systems to obtain and extract information, validate source of information; and prepare routine memorandums, letters, and forms ; OR
- Possess at least one full year of graduate level education; OR
- Possess superior academic achievement (i.e., at least a 3.0 GPA).

For the GS-9 grade-level, you must:
- Possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-7 or equivalent pay band in the Federal service. Examples of equivalent experience are independently research and extract information for case preparation; prepare digest of selected decisions; prepare and review business or legal documents for completeness; validate citations and other legal references used in cases materials or other legal documents; and finalize memorandums, letters, reports, and other correspondence ; OR
- Possess at least two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a degree; OR
- Possess a Master's Degree.

Please Note : We may consider combining education and experience to meet the grade-level requirement only when graduate education is in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level and can be combined with an appropriate level of experience to equal 100 percent. For example, 27 semester hours (only graduate education beyond one full year (i.e., 9 semester hours) is counted) can be combined with six months of specialized experience to equal 100 percent (or one-year of specialized experience).

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/12/2021. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be creditable toward your qualifications. Therefore, you should provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .
Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation .

All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

DOJ EEO Statement/Policy:
http://www.justice.gov/jmd/eeos/08-eeo-policy.pdf
Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes to resume@benderconsult.com, and reference "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information is found at: www.benderconsult.com .
Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov
Veteran Preference: If you are entitled to or claim veteran preference (VP), you should indicate the type of veteran preference (5 or 10 points) you are claiming on your résumé. In order to determine your eligibility, you can find additional information at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/ .

NOTE: To verify your veteran preference entitlement, please submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214(Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty; or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that shows your military service was performed under honorable conditions. (1) If you are claiming 10-point preference, you must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reserves side of the SF-15, Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference. (2) If you are claiming 10-point DERIVED PREFERENCE as a relative you must submit Member Copy of the veteran's DD-214, and an SF-15, Application for 10-point veteran preference" in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reverse side of this form. If you fail to do so, you will receive consideration as a non-veteran.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm ET on04/12/2021), a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted, the information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements, your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veterans' preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. Human Resources will send applicants who fall within the Best Qualified category to the hiring official for employment consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Oral Communication
• Research
• Writing

Please Note: Additional selections may be made from this announcement for up to 90 days should an additional position becomes available.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness , National security

Required Documents

The following documents are REQUIRED for this vacancy.
You must submit these documents with your application to be considered.

• Resume showing relevant experience.
• School Transcript (an official transcript will be required, if you are selected for the position)
• Veteran documentation, (if you are claiming preference and do not have a DD-214)
• DD-214 Member Copy 4 (if you are claiming preference)
• SF-50 (if you are a current Federal employee in a Recent Graduate program)
• Schedule (A) Documentation (if you are claiming a disability)

IMPORTANT RESUME INFORMATION: Your resume must contain detailed information about your past employment, education, and qualifications. You should also include unpaid work experience (volunteer work) as well. We may be able to credit you for this experience. If you're unsure about what to include in your resume, please review the USAJOBS Resume Writing Tutorial on YouTube. At a minimum, your resume must list each of the following items for every employment referenced: 1) position title,, 2) employer name and contact information, 3) start and end dates ( including month and year ), 4) a detailed list of duties performed, accomplishments, and your highest salary (or grade/step) achieved, and 5) whether work performed was full-time or part-time (including hours worked).

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.