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Paralegal Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Sep 25, 2021
Duties

Summary

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/ .

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for performing a variety of complex paralegal assignments within the US Attorney's Office, Criminal Division, Fraud Section. Typical work assignments will include:
  • Providing direct paralegal assistance to attorneys handling sensitive matters in support of the mission and function of the Criminal Division;
  • Conducting complex legal research and analysis, and summarizing relevant legal precedents for applicability to assigned cases;
  • Preparing, organizing, indexing, and maintaining discovery productions in assigned cases;
  • Providing in-courtroom presentation of exhibits and trial support.;
  • Preparing exhibits for trial, which typically involve a wide range of visual materials including charts, diagrams, photographs and models
  • Participating in interviews with agents and potential witnesses to assist Attorneys in preparation for grand jury or trial;
  • Performing other related duties as assigned.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National
  • Background investigation, credit check, and drug test required
  • You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable
  • If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
  • Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
  • You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.


Qualifications

To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, OR Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-9 level work. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the competencies needed to perform the job duties. Examples of such experience are: providing legal administrative and technical support to Attorneys handling white collar and/or cybercrime investigations and prosecutions; conducting legal research concerning precedents and past court decisions; checking citations, preparing evidence and exhibits, and recommendations; preparing legal documents, including motions, search warrants, arrest warrants, and documentation relevant to other actions related to the acquisition of evidence and/or testimony for criminal investigations; preparing grand jury and trial subpoenas, attachments to subpoenas and other technical documents; drafts documents for review and providing in-courtroom presentation of exhibits and trial support.

Education: One of the following types of education in a related field: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree: OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university.

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 3 full years.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)- The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov
OR
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html . All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement.

Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.
Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Types-of-Appointments

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. See http://www.sss.gov/ .

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.
EEO Statement: The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a parent, genetic information, disability, age, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your complete application package (resume/supporting documentation, online questionnaire, and USA Hire Competency Based Assessment) will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online questionnaire. 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 you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

You will be rated on the following Competencies (see The Delegated Examining Operations Handbook, Appendix F for definitions):
Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, and Teamwork

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Confidential

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:
-Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
-Required: Your resume showing relevant experience and dates (month/day/year) of employment and work schedule for each (e.g., part-time XX hours per week or full-time). 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. (cover letter optional)
-Required if you meet qualifications based on education: An unofficial college transcript (Note: If you are selected for this position, official transcript will be required prior to your first day.) and foreign education evaluation documentation, if applicable, as described under the "Qualifications" section of this vacancy announcement.
-Required if you are a current or former Federal employee: a recent copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing title, series, grade, and full performance level (FPL); AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal. Please note your SF-50 must include your FPL in the remark section (e.g., appointment, reassignment, promotion actions), pay adjustments and awards do not include this information so they are not acceptable.
-Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.
- Required, if applicable: VEOA documentation (your DD-214, Member Copy 4).
-If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you must submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found at: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

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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