Legal Assistant (Legal Access Officer)

Summary

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Duties

Responsible for maintaining and addressing legal access for legal visits legal phone calls legal correspondence access to discovery legal access in emergent situations and access for populations with specific needs.

Support the implementation of policies programs and procedures related to legal access and will have a significant impact on the formulation or execution of institutional decisions on legal access.

Independently handles inquiries regarding legal access and serves as a resource to staff at their location and to the public concerning legal access in the facility. This includes supporting the facility in providing a consistent process for communication around unexpected cancellation of legal visitation or scheduled legal calls by the facility.

Elevate legal access as an operational priority in the facility improve legal access during the detention process including access to counsel under the constitution and may involve direct assistance to institutional staff by performing a segment of their work to achieve that goal.

Along with all other correctional institution employees incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staffs correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP) : 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:

1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
2. Be rated well-qualified for the position scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility:
   • A copy of the agency notice (i.e. separation notice or agency RIF letter)
   • Most recent performance appraisal and
   • Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position grade promotion potential and duty location.
   • See USAJOBS Career Transition Programs for more information.

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: U.S Department of Justice - Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Key Requirements:

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Education:
As a general rule education is not creditable above GL-05 for most positions covered by this standard; however graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

OR

Experience:
You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge skills and abilities necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

• Experience with independently analyzing and interpreting information or sources relative to legal access and making appropriate recommendations to stakeholders.
• Experience understanding criminal trial process as it relates to legal access and distinguishing between a variety of legal instruments including court order petitions and complaints Habeas Bivens Tort Mandamus and various injunctive relief requests.
• Experience serving as liaison between a facility and external stakeholders for legal access.
• Experience with public speaking and communication related to navigating complex legal access situations and identifying ways to improve processes.

If applicable credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education

ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name Student Name Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). 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 Click Here.
Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education) you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

Additional information

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307 a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for original appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution.

If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage.

Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility.

Special Conditions of Employment Section:
Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview urinalysis physical and background investigation.

All applicants are subject to and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check.

All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm.

Successful completion of the Introduction to Correctional Techniques three-week training course at Glynco Georgia is required.

Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate.

NOTE: A 8.64% COLA will be added to the above salary.

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 CompetencyBased 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 Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( 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.

Required Experience:

Unclear Seniority

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