Legal Administrative Specialist

Job Details

Qualifications & Requirements

GS-07: To be eligible at the GS-07 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in Federal service. Specialized experience assisting attorneys by preparing routine legal documents (e.g., basic motions, notices, subpoenas, proposed orders, or routine correspondence);assisting attorneys with the discovery process, such as by indexing and organizing discovery items received; transmitting discovery productions, maintaining discovery logs, and tracking productions to opposing counsel; assisting attorneys with hearing and trial preparation such as by compiling, organizing and indexing evidentiary exhibits; compiling witness and exhibit lists; and assembling trial notebooks; assisting attorneys with case development and preparation, such as by performing basic legal or factual research or preparing written summaries of evidentiary materials; assisting attorneys in trial preparation and courtroom presentations, such as by preparing trial exhibits such as charts, graphs and timelines and presenting trial exhibits using trial presentation software in court. 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 related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Law, IT) leading to a Master's degree OR completed 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 national scholastic honor Societies; OR Grade Point Average. 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 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. Combining Education and Experience: A combination of experience and graduate level education can be used if, when combined, are equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirement. (Only graduate education in excess of one full year is creditable.) GS-09: To be eligible at the GS-09 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as managing discovery in a variety of formats, such as by receiving, indexing, and organizing incoming discovery materials, and preparing, transmitting, and tracking discovery productions; assisting attorneys with evaluating discovery or evidentiary materials' value or relevance to assigned criminal or civil cases; conducting straightforward factual and legal research in support of assigned criminal or civil cases, utilizing legal databases and public sources; drafting routine legal documents and correspondence, such as requests for extensions, letters transmitting discovery, routine notices, and written summaries of witness statements or documentary evidence; assisting attorneys with hearing or trial preparation, such as by preparing trial subpoenas, assembling evidentiary exhibits, maintaining witness lists and schedules, and preparing demonstrative exhibits; supporting attorneys during court proceedings or other live case presentations, such as by using trial presentation software and equipment to display exhibits or demonstratives, maintaining accounting system of exhibits, and managing witnesses. Education: one of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Law, IT): Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., 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: A combination of experience and graduate level education can be used if, when combined, are equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirement. (Only graduate education in excess of one full year is creditable.) 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/.

Position Overview

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. This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under 26-AK-13032307-MS.

Duties

• If selected, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing a range of legal and administrative support services to attorneys in complex criminal or civil matters. At the full performance level, duties will include (but are not limited to): serving as the primary support specialist responsible for managing incoming and outgoing discovery in complex criminal or civil matters, to include coordinating with agency partners to collect materials, reviewing incoming materials to assess responsiveness, organizing complex and voluminous materials for efficient review by the case team, preparing materials for production, and maintaining detailed indices of materials received and produced; analyzing and summarizing evidentiary materials, including witness statements and documentary records, drawing upon knowledge of the legal and factual issues in the Government's case; assisting attorneys with hearing and trial preparation, and during live court proceedings, to include maintaining witness lists and schedules, drafting subpoenas, assembling and managing exhibits, and operating trial presentation software in the courtroom; conducting complex legal and factual research in legal and non-legal databases in support of civil or criminal cases, and drafting a variety of legal documents such as discovery requests and routine motions, proposed orders, and notices. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.