Legal Administrative Specialist

US-Executive-Office-For-U.S.-Attorneys-and-the-Office-of-the-U.S.-Attorneys-; Concord (NH); On-site; USD 52,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Justice- United States Attorneys' Offices is announcing vacancies at multiple GS levels. The positions require litigation support, trial preparation, and extensive use of legal research tools.

Applicants may qualify via specialized experience or graduate-level education, including law- or justice-related fields. Candidates must meet GS-07, GS-09, or GS-11 requirements, with competencies in organizing case materials and supporting attorneys in trial preparation.

Qualifications

• One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level or education with related studies.
• Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.
• Combining education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements.

Skills

Litigation support

Trial preparation

Legal document preparation

Spreadsheets/Word processing

Legal research tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's or JD/LL.B.

Tools

Westlaw

Lexis

Public information databases

Job description

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.

This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under 27-NH-13084567-MS.

GS-07

To be eligible at the GS-07 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience:

• providing litigation support by scanning and coding documents and creating DVDs or CDs;
• assisting attorneys in preparing for court by preparing exhibits, compiling trial notebooks, compiling witness and exhibit lists and/or preparing computerized trial presentations and exhibits;
• preparing a variety of legal documents;
• utilizing software packages such as spreadsheets and word processing applications to present evidence.

Education: One (1) full year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a related field (e.g., Legal Studies, Law, Criminal Justice). Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

Combination of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements.

Superior Academic Achievement: Possess a Bachelor's Degree or expect to complete the requirements for a Bachelor's degree within the next 9 months AND possess at least one of the following criteria: class standing in the upper third of the graduating class; an overall GPA of 3.0 OR at least a 3.0 based on courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; a GPA of at least 3.5 based on the average of required courses completed in my major field OR based on the average of required courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; OR election to membership in a national scholastic honor society.

GS-09

To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience:

• providing litigation assistance such as maintaining records regarding electronic case materials;
• assisting attorneys in trial preparation such as preparing subpoenas, trial exhibits, information requests, pleadings, and/or correspondence;
• providing legal and administrative support to attorneys including examining and preparing legal documents, editing, cite-checking, tracking cases, and/or discovery processing;
• using automated legal research tools such as Westlaw, Lexis, as well as public information databases to research case-specific legal matters.

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related.

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 1 full year.

GS-11

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

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience:

• providing technical advice to litigation teams on legal automation requirements and system capabilities;
• organizing and managing voluminous case information;
• Providing legal support to attorneys in trial preparation such as preparing subpoenas, trial exhibits, information requests, pleadings, and/or correspondence;
• analyzing litigation support requirements to develop or recommend appropriate strategies to meet litigation needs;
• using automated legal research tools such as Westlaw, Lexis, as well as public information databases to research case-specific legal matters.

Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Law, Criminal Justice or IT): LL.B. or J.D., if related; a 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 and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

Combining Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience and graduate education (as described above), which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate level education must be in excess of 2 full years. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours that exceed 36 semester hours (or your school's definition of two years of graduate study), then divide the total number of your excess graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of study).

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/.