Paralegal Specialist

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys; Bangor (ME); On-site; USD 44,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys seeks a recent graduate for a one-year Pathways Recent Graduates program. The role emphasizes legal research, drafting, and trial preparation, with a pathway to non-competitive conversion to a federal career upon successful completion.

Qualified applicants must have a qualifying education within the last two years and be a U.S. citizen. A background investigation is required and a participant agreement will be signed.

Qualifications

• One full year of specialized experience at GS-05 level equivalent, including legal research and drafting of legal documents.
• Experience in trial preparation, organizing evidentiary exhibits, and reviewing legal documents for citations.
• Ability to use computerized database programs for legal research and document organization.

Responsibilities

• Assist in trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing evidentiary exhibits.
• Verify citations and statutory references in legal documents.

Skills

Legal research

Document interpretation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice or related field

Tools

Legal databases

Job description

This is an excepted service appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduates Program. This appointment is a one-year career development program. At the successful completion of the program requirements, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional appointment. For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit here. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit here.

Note: To be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure that your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience that you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly stated in your resume, you will not be considered for this position.

• Recent Graduates must have obtained a qualifying associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying accredited educational institution within the previous 2 years unless military service interfered with a veteran's eligibility to apply during that two year time frame. Veterans meeting the above exclusion may apply within 2 years of discharge or 6 years from the date of receipt of the degree whichever comes first. (Go to http://www.ed.gov/accreditation?src=rn to verify accreditation status).
• Recent graduates must be United States citizens or owe permanent allegiance to the United States. (Currently, natives of American Samoa, Swains Island and certain inhabitants of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are the only groups that owe permanent allegiance to the United States.)
• You must successfully complete a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
• All recent graduates are required to sign a Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement.
• Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment.

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-05 level. Specialized experience is defined as work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions to include drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondence; assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing various evidentiary exhibits; reviewing legal documents to extract information related to specific issues; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; utilizing various computerized database programs to include automated legal research tools and public information to organize extensive documents; conducting research.

Education

One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice Law): One full year of graduate level education leading to a Master’s degree or higher; or a completed Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent, with Superior Academic Achievement, as defined by the Office of Personnel Management's Qualification Standards. Superior Academic Achievement is the completion of a full four‑year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree and meets one of the following provisions: (1) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for all completed undergraduate coursework or for all courses completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work; (2) a GPA of 3.5 or higher for all courses in the major field of study, or those courses in a major completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work; (3) ranking in the upper one-third of a college, university, or major subdivision or (4) membership in a national scholastic honor society.

Combining Education and Experience

Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. To qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be more than one full year.