Paralegal Specialist (Immigration)

United States Attorneys' Offices; Hammond (IN); On-site; USD 54,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

United States Attorneys' Offices is seeking a paralegal/legal support professional to assist Assistant United States Attorneys in immigration-related civil litigation. You will perform routine legal research, draft initial documents, and manage case materials with attention to detail.

Responsibilities include preparing memoranda, motions, and declarations for attorney review, maintaining calendars and case records, and verifying citations and formatting for court submissions.

Qualifications

• Specialized legal research experience and ability to draft routine legal documents.
• Ability to organize case materials and prepare exhibits for hearings or trial.
• Familiarity with citations, court rules, and statutory references.

Responsibilities

• Conduct legal research using statutes, case law, regulations, and policy documents.
• Prepare initial drafts of motions, memoranda, declarations, and responses to court orders.
• Draft summaries and preliminary briefs for attorney review and filing.
• Proofread documents, verify citations, and ensure correct format.
• Develop and enter case materials into a database and maintain calendars.
• Maintain case records and respond to basic inquiries from AUSAs.

Skills

Legal research

Drafting docs

Case management

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in related field

Tools

Legal research databases

Job description

Summary

This is a term position not-to-exceed 9/30/2029. This position may be extended, or made permanent, without further advertising. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/.

Summary This is a term position not-to-exceed 9/30/2029. This position may be extended, or made permanent, without further advertising. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/.

Duties Help At The Full Performance Level, You Will Provide Routine Legal And Case Support To Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Engaged In Immigration-related Civil Litigation Matters. Typical Work Assignments Will Include

• Conduct legal research on cases and issues identified by AUSAs, utilizing statutes, case law, regulations, court rules, legal treatises, legal periodicals, and policy documents.
• Prepare initial drafts of routine legal documents including motions, supporting memoranda, declarations, referrals, and responses to court orders.
• Drafts factual summaries and preliminary versions of briefs and case filings for attorney review.
• Proofread documents, verify citations, and confirm statutory references to ensure accuracy and compliance with required format standards.
• Develop and enter various case material into a computer database.
• Maintain calendars and track deadlines for court filings.
• Maintain case records, prepare routine correspondence, and respond to basic inquiries from AUSAs and partner agencies.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. This position has promotion potential to the GS-11 grade level. Promotion to the next grade level is at management's discretion and is based on your demonstrated ability to perform the higher-level duties, the continuing need for the higher-level duties, and "Regulatory/Administrative" approval. Promotion to the next higher grade level is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.

Requirements Help Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications GS-7: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE (1) of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondence; assists in the preparation and organization of documentation and evidence for production as discovery and for use in trial; compiles, organizes, and indexes evidentiary exhibits for use at hearings or trial; prepares draft list of exhibits to be offered at trial; review legal documents to extract information related to specific issues; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; and utilizing various computerized data base programs to organize extensive 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) in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies, Law) leading to a master's degree OR completed bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. Superior Academic Achievement is defined as follows: standing in the upper third of your graduating class or major subdivision, OR membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies, OR obtaining a sufficient grade point average, defined as the following. Applicants must have a grade point average of: (a) 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 based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 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. -OR- Combining 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 combined education and experience, candidates must demonstrate a combination of specialized experiencedand graduate-level education that equals 100% of the requirements. GS-9: To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE (1) of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience:One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing paralegal or legal work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of legal research and the ability to interpret legal decisions. Examples of specialized experience may include the following: examining and processing a variety of legal documents; conducting research, analysis and evaluation of data in response to complex or sensitive requests; drafting briefs, pleadings, litigation recommendations, or other legal documents and correspondence; using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information; document findings and preparing recommendations; searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel. Education:One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law): a Master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D.); OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. 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. Combining 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, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year. GS-11:To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE (1) of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized Experience is defined as experience performing a variety of analytical paralegal or legal work which demonstrates a practical knowledge of law, the litigation and judicial process, and applicable rules, regulations, policies, and procedures. Examples of specialized experiences may include the following: analyzing and evaluating legal decisions and case files to identify relevant issues and potential evidence; conducting legal research concerning precedents and past court decisions; composing legal briefs, summaries of analyses and decisions, and pre-trial documents; interviewing witnesses and various individuals who can provide insight into cases under review; and preparing evidence and documents to support recommendations. Education:One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law): a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related. 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. Combining 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, graduate education must be in excess of 2 full years. The complete Qualification Standards used for this position may be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-ADMIN. 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: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. 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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Education 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 http://www.ed.gov OR Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. Additional information A recruitment or relocation incentive may be considered as appropriate based on qualifications. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or is exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement/Policy: 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. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. 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. Help 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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits 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.