Paralegal Specialist

Justice Management Division; Washington (District of Columbia); Sur place; USD 54 000 - 66 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Justice Management Division in Washington, DC, seeks a Paralegal Specialist to support civil rights attorneys with legal and factual research and related duties.

The GS-0950-7 specialist will review data, prepare and organize exhibits, interact with staff, and present issues with appropriate diplomacy while applying regulations and writing style guides for written materials. The role emphasizes accuracy, initiative, and teamwork in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience includes reviewing legal documents and extracting information.
• Assisting in trial preparation by organizing exhibits and indexes.
• Verifying citations and statutory references in legal documents.

Responsabilités

• Researches and analyzes data, issues, and information to support recommendations.
• Interacts with colleagues and supervisors to complete work assignments.
• Presents facts and positions with appropriate diplomacy and emphasis.
• Interprets regulations and style guides to prepare written materials.

Connaissances

Legal document review

Trial preparation

Citations verification

Formation

Master's degree or JD/LL.B

Bachelor's with superior academic achievement

Description du poste

Summary

This position is located in the Civil Rights Division's (Division). As a Paralegal Specialist, you will perform legal and factual research and other closely related duties in support of attorneys engaged in civil rights cases and matters.

Duties

As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the multitude of experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

If Selected As a Paralegal Specialist GS-0950-7, Typical Work Assignments May Vary Based Upon The Needs Of The Individual Sections, Their Practice Areas, And a Host Of Other Factors. Typical Assignments Include

• Researches and analyzes data, issues, and information that support project recommendations or the work assignments or higher-grade specialists.
• Conducts regular interactions with colleagues and supervisors to complete work assignments.
• Presents facts, issues, and positions that convey the intended information with the appropriate diplomacy and emphasis.
• Interprets and applies pertinent regulation and style manuals governing written communications to prepare written material which communicate the intended information.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration).
• DOJ uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, by visiting www.e-verify.gov/.
• You may be required to complete a pre-employment security screening to initiate your background investigation, which includes a drug screening. Continued employment is contingent upon successful completion and adjudication of your investigation.
• This is a term appointment. The initial term appointment is Not To Exceed (NTE) 13 months. The initial term appointment may be extended up to the 4-year limit.
• You may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• Resume cannot exceed two (2) pages.

Qualifications

To be eligible at the GS 7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below:

Specialized Experience

For the GS-07, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, public or other private sectors that is directly related to the position as listed above and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position includes ALL of the following:

• reviewing legal documents to extract information related to specific issues;
• assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing and indexing various evidentiary exhibits;
• verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents.

OR

Education

Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher level graduate education (18 semester hours or the number of units your school uses to describe one graduate year of academic study) leading to a master's degree; or LL.B. or JD;

OR

A bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievement is as follows:

• standing in the upper third of your graduating class or major subdivision; or
• membership in one of the qualifying National Scholastic Honor Societies; or
• Grade Point Average. Applicants must have a grade point average of:
• 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; OR
• 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

A transcript must be submitted to receive consideration.

OR

Combination of 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, a combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education as described above, which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours then divide the total number of your graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate 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%. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation.)

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.

During the eligibility review process, the Human Resources Specialist will only review the latest document uploaded to USA Jobs. Therefore, if you submit duplicate documents, ensure the last version uploaded to USA Jobs is the necessary document required to meet the criteria/qualifications described in this job announcement.

All qualifications and education requirements (if applicable) must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement. If you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.

Note: Applicants are required to have completed their degree prior to submitting an application.

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:

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

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements, please see the statements below.

You will need to submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and/or semester hours earned, degree earned and confer dates. Failure to provide this documentation will result in objection to your qualifications, and removal from consideration. You will be required to submit your official college transcript if you are selected.

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. Therefore, 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

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

Additional information

EEO Statement

The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

FAIR CHANCE TO COMPETE FOR JOBS

The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee has violated your rights under the Fair Chance Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly with the DOJ component hiring office listed in the job opportunity announcement. For more information visit

SCHEDULE A, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Learn more at

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests

If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:

• Note: This announcement may be used to fill other Paralegal Specialist (GS-950-7) positions within the Division if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes

• Required, Resume - Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week). The Resume Builder can also support these recommendations and uses information from your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
• Required: A complete Occupational Questionnaire
• Required: 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 applying as a
  • Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u). This letter must be separate from any Veterans Preference documentation. If you are selected and your Schedule A letter is more than three years old, you will be asked to provide an updated letter.
  • -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.

Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:

• If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF-15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the
• If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
• If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit a completed