Paralegal Specialist

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys; Charleston (WV); On-site; USD 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys in the United States government seek a Paralegal to support legal staff.

The role requires handling a variety of legal documents, conducting basic research, and preparing recommendations based on case files and data. Qualified candidates will have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-07, or advanced education as described, and will be able to interpret legal decisions and use filing systems to

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions.
• Experience handling a variety of legal documents and drafting related correspondence.
• Familiarity with electronic or manual filing systems to organize information.

Responsibilities

• Examine and process a variety of legal documents.
• Conduct research, analysis and evaluation of data for complex or sensitive requests.
• Draft legal documents and correspondence; prepare findings and recommendations.
• Search and review legal references, case files, and other sources for information for attorneys or court personnel.

Skills

Legal research

Legal document handling

Data analysis

Drafting legal documents

Filing systems

Education

Master’s degree or higher

Graduate education equivalent to master

LL.B or J.D.

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.

GS-09: To be qualified at the GS-9 level, you must have at least ONE year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as performing paralegal or legal work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions. Examples of qualifying experience include performing the following types of duties:

• examining and processing a variety of legal documents;
• conducting research, analysis and evaluation of data in response to complex or sensitive requests;
• drafting legal documents and correspondence;
• using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information
• documenting findings and preparing recommendations;
• searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel.

OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree; OR LL.B or J.D., in a related field of study to the position (e.g., Paralegal Studies, Political Science, Law, Criminal Justice, Forensic Studies). 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.

OR

Combining Education and Experience: A Combination of specialized experience as described above, and graduate-level education as described above in which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. Only graduate education in excess of 1 full year is creditable. To calculate your percentage of education, first determine the total number of hours that exceed 36 semester hours or your school's definition of two full years of study. Then divide the total number of your excess semester hours by 18 or your school's definition of one year of study. To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. For example, if you had if you had 9 months of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09, then you would have 75% of the required experience. If you also had 45 semester hours of creditable graduate level education, then 45-36=9 semester hours. 9 divided by 18 is 50% of the required education, and therefore, 75% + 50% = 125%. You would qualify for this position.