Paralegal Specialist

Summary

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

This position is also being announced to All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 26-OHS-12969009-DE.

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Duties

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If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team as a Paralegal Specialist in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Typical work assignments will include:

• Reviewing and organizing complex factual material and other documentary data for investigations and trials.
• Assisting in drafting, reviewing, and/or filing of criminal charging documents, plea agreements, and other litigation documents.
• Processing, preparing, and transmitting discovery materials to opposing counsel, including Bates stamping documents, preparing discovery letters, and maintaining logs to track discovery materials provided.
• Researching case law, statutes, regulations, court rules, policies, procedures, legal periodicals, and other legal authorities that are relevant to cases identified by attorney(s).
• Preparing a variety of substantive legal documents to include grand jury and trial subpoenas, motions and proposed orders regarding continuance and sealing, correspondence, and documentation relevant to acquiring evidence or testimony.
• Developing, entering, and tracking various case material in computer databases and/or other systems utilized to log and track data.
• Assisting attorneys in reviewing and analyzing evidence and data to determine sufficiency and accuracy of information and evidence.
• Communicating with court staff, attorneys, and other paralegals to coordinate court hearings and grand jury schedules.
• Preparing, developing, compiling, or maintaining jury instructions in preparation for trial.
• Preparing exhibits for trial which typically involve a wide range of visual materials.
• Providing litigation case management and organizing cases for court presentation.
• Providing administrative support to assigned attorneys.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

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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.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

GS-7 : To be eligible at the GS-7 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: Experience drafting a variety of routine legal documents and correspondence; assisting with organization and production of discovery materials; assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing various evidentiary exhibits and reviewing and filing pre-trial litigation documents; reviewing legal documents to extract information related to specific issues; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; and utilizing various computerized database programs to organize case-related documents.

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, Law) leading to a master's degree OR 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 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: 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 experienced and graduate-level education that equals 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.)

GS-9: To be eligible at the GS-9 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: 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, processing, and organizing a variety of legal documents; conducting research, analysis, and evaluation of data in response to complex or sensitive requests; drafting briefs, pleadings, or other legal documents and correspondence; using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information; preparing, processing, producing, and tracking incoming and outgoing discovery materials; 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 LLB or J.D., if related); 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 require graduates to have 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.

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

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement.

Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links:

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

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

Additional information

Salary Information :

Cincinnati, OH Salary is $52,559 to $83,582 which includes a 21.93% locality pay.

Columbus, OH, Salary is $52,654 to $83,733 which includes a 22.15% locality pay.

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized

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 are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See

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:

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.

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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.

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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.