Paralegal Specialist

US Federal Election Commission; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Federal Election Commission's Administrative Division of the Office of General Counsel seeks a Paralegal Specialist to support Administrative Law, Enforcement, Litigation, and Policy matters. This is a Non-Bargaining, full-time position focused on legal support and collaboration with attorneys and staff.

Qualified candidates will have specialized paralegal experience or related graduate education as described in the vacancy notice, including evidence review, document organization, and

Qualifications

• Substantive legal research supporting attorneys in enforcement, litigation, advisory, policy, and administrative law matters.
• Organizing documentary evidence, exhibits, witness files, deposition materials, and litigation notebooks.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical legal support to attorneys.
• Assist attorneys in preparing administrative and judicial litigation with organized materials and notebooks.
• Review and edit legal memoranda, briefs, and other documents for accuracy and compliance.
• Manage deadlines and coordinate work across multiple legal practice areas.

Skills

Legal research

Document organization

Editing legal documents

Deadline management

Education

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

3+ years of graduate education toward Ph.D.

Job description

This position is located in the Administrative Division of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) and serves as a Paralegal Specialist in any of the subject matter areas of OGC to include Administrative Law, Enforcement, Litigation, and Policy. The Administrative Division of OGC is a dynamic, team-oriented environment of dedicated professionals focused on providing excellent legal and support services to OGC and the FEC.

This is a Non-Bargaining position.

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements described below. To qualify based on experience, your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience that meets the specialized experience requirements listed below. If qualifying based on education, a copy of your unofficial or official transcripts must be provided with your application.

Specialized Experience Requirement for GS-11:

Applicants must have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in private or public sectors) performing paralegal or legal work such as:

• (1) conducting substantive legal research and providing technical legal support to attorneys engaged in enforcement, litigation, advisory, policy, and administrative law matters;
• (2) assisting attorneys in preparing administrative and judicial litigation by organizing documentary evidence, exhibits, witness files, deposition materials, and litigation notebooks;
• (3) reviewing and editing legal memoranda, briefs, correspondence, pleadings, and other legal documents for organizational compliance;
• (4) managing competing deadlines and coordinating work across several legal practice areas while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.

OR,

Education Requirement for GS-11:

Successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

OR,

Combination Requirement for GS-11:

An equivalent combination of specialized experience and graduate education as listed above. To compute this, first determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required above; then determine your total qualifying graduate education as a percentage of the education required above; add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal 100 percent to qualify.

(Note: You may only use graduate education beyond the first 2 years (36 semester hours) in determining your creditable education).

Status candidates must meet time-in-grade/band requirements

Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-09 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 grade level. (Must submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No award SF-50 will be accepted).

In addition, you must provide a cover letter describing your experience with the competencies identified below:

Administrative Law-

Knowledge of state and federal administrative laws, including procedures, regulations, guidelines, and precedents related to case preparation and settlements.

Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.

Program Management

Applies principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and managing projects and resources, including technical performance.

Writing

Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.

Part-time or unpaid experience

Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

Volunteer or unpaid experience

Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.