Paralegal Specialist.

Offices-to-go; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Justice seeks a Paralegal Specialist in Washington, DC. The role supports criminal litigation at GS-09/11 levels, with English writing proficiency assessed via USA Hire. Duties include research, exhibit preparation, and document management for appeals or trials.

Responsibilities cover evidence preparation, chart/graph creation, deposition readiness, and thorough research across legal/non-legal databases. Direct deposit applies to federal payroll.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience at GS-07 level or higher in legal research, filing exhibits, or trial preparation.
• Option to substitute education for experience with graduate coursework or a JD/LLB.
• Combination of education and experience allowed; education beyond one year can be counted.

Responsibilities

• Assist at all levels in criminal litigation development from investigation to pleadings.
• Prepare filings and exhibits for trials or appeals for attorneys.
• Organize case documents and coordinate document productions.

Skills

Legal research

Court filings

Document review

Bluebook citation

Relativity

Education

Graduate degree (LL.B/J.D.) or higher

Two years of graduate education substituting experience

Tools

Relativity

Job description

Duties

This vacancy includes a Selective Placement Factor. Please see Qualifications for more information.

As a Paralegal Specialist, you may perform duties such as:

• Assisting at all levels in the development of criminal litigation or appeals, beginning at the investigation level, to filing pleadings with the court.
• Assisting attorneys by preparing filings and exhibits for trials or appeals.
• Organizing case documents, conducting first-level document review, and coordinating document productions.
• Proofreading and cite-checking legal briefs, memoranda, and other documents, and ensuring accordance with Bluebook and/or other citation and style requirements for legal writing.
• Conducting various document searches using document management databases such as Relativity.
• Producing work products that are well written, clear, and free of errors.
• Preparing for interviews, depositions, hearings, and appeals.
• Conducting extensive and thorough research in a variety of legal and non-legal databases and providing information in response to a wide range of questions.
• Preparing and organizing evidence, discovery and trial exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs, and maps, to be presented in court.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
• You must complete the online questionnaire and additional assessment(s).
• You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
• Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
• You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet status eligibility for this announcement.
• Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• A one-year probationary period may be required.
• The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program. E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

To qualify at the GS-09 level

Applicants must demonstrate one of the qualifications as listed below:

• Have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-07 level. This experience must include duties such as: conducting legal research; writing legal reports, to include summarizing factual information, legal issues, and case law relevant to a given case; and assisting with the preparation of exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs and maps to be presented in court; OR
• Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree, LL.B, J.D., or equivalent degree that demonstrates the competencies needed to do the work of the position may be substituted for the experience required; OR
• A combination of education and experience as listed above. Please note, only education in excess of one year of graduate education may be used in this calculation.

To qualify at the GS-11 level,

Applicants must demonstrate one of the qualifications as listed below:

• Have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-09 grade level. This experience must include duties such as: independently conducting legal research for litigation or appeals; reviewing evidence such as subpoenas and witness binders for use during litigation or appeals; writing legal reports, to include summarizing factual information, legal issues and case law relevant to a given case; and preparing exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs and maps, to be presented in court; OR
• Three years of progressively higher graduate education, leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
• A combination of education and experience.

Selective Placement Factor:

To qualify for this position at the GS-09/11 grade level, applicants must be proficient in English writing. Applicants' proficiency in (English) writing will be assessed through an online (USA Hire) writing assessment. Applicants who do not display a minimum level of proficiency on the USA Hire Writing Assessment will be ineligible for further consideration.

Combination of Education and Experience -

Your current education completed is credited as a percentage of the education required for the grade level and your current experience is credited as a percentage of the total experience required for the grade level. The two percentages are added and must equal 100% in order to qualify for the desired grade level.

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. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see

Foreign Education:

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

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

ELIGIBILITY:

You are eligible under merit promotion procedures, if you meet one of the following criteria:

• Federal employees currently serving on career or career-conditional appointments in the competitive service.
• Former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility based on previous career or career-conditional appointments in the competitive service. For more information see
• Displaced federal employees requesting special priority selection consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP);
• Veterans with Veterans' Preference or veterans who have been separated under honorable conditions after three years or more of active continuous service (Veterans Employment Opportunities Act);
• Individuals with disabilities - For more information and proof required see
• Any other individuals eligible for a non-competitive appointment, including former Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, Boren Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, military spouses, etc.

Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.

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. Additional information on DOJ's EEO policy can be found on our

Career Transition Programs

These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
• Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
• Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

USA Hire 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 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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

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.