Remote Paralegal Specialist - Recent Graduate

Duties

As a Paralegal Specialist (Recent Graduate) your responsibilities may include:

• Conducting cite checks pursuant to The Bluebook; proofreading and editing legal briefs and memoranda prior to filing in court; and ensuring conformance of documents to applicable court rules.
• Preparing, organizing, and indexing excerpts of record, appendices, and administrative records.
• Performing document management, including creating and maintaining litigation databases.
• Organizing and writing synopses of factual materials and preparing non-legal memoranda.
• Performing research in various legal databases including Westlaw, Pacer, and Lexis.
• Preparing weekly reports and maintaining databases, including ENRD's Case Management System.

The work can be fast paced on tight deadlines.

Position Conversion

Position may be converted to a term or permanent appointment if the following are met:

• Successful completion of at least one year of continuous service.
• Completion of at least 40 hours of formal interactive training.
• Demonstration of successful job performance.

A recent graduate converted to a term appointment may subsequently be converted non-competitively into a permanent position. An Individual Development Plan (IDP) must be completed and approved by the supervisor within 45 days of appointment and a mentor must be assigned within 60 days of appointment.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You must complete a background investigation to include pre-employment drug testing.
• Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
• You will be required to serve a one-year trial period.
• You must maintain a bank account for direct deposit of salary.
• If you do not submit school transcripts, you will be rated ineligible.
• If this is your first appointment in the Federal service, your salary will be set at Step 1 of the grade.

Qualifications

To be eligible for this Recent Graduate program, one of the following requirements must be met:

• Recent graduates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution; or must have completed a qualifying career or technical education program with or without a formal degree in a Registered Apprentice Program, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, or Peace Corps.
• You must have completed your degree, certificate, or program on or before the end of the current semester. If you graduated or completed an education program prior to May 2024, you will not be eligible for this position.
• Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply.

Note: If you are a current student seeking a degree or certificate from an educational institution, you may apply if you are in the final semester of the degree/certificate. You must include your expected date of graduation on your resume. You must receive your degree prior to appointment. If you are currently a student but cannot provide proof that you expect to graduate by the end of the current semester, you will not meet the program eligibility requirements for the Recent Graduate.

Paralegal Specialist (Recent Graduate) GS-7

• One year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-5 Federal grade level providing litigation support in a legal environment. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, using litigation software to identify documents potentially relevant to litigation cases or maintaining legal databases used to track the production and receipt of documents; OR
• Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement within a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and based on (1) class standing (upper third), (2) grade point average (3.0 or higher), or (3) honor society membership. This education was obtained in or verified by a U.S. accredited college or university; OR
• One full year of graduate level education that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR
• A combination of graduate education and specialized experience, that together meet 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Paralegal Specialist (Recent Graduate) GS-9

• One year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level or above providing litigation support in a legal environment, conducting research online, interpreting relevant information, and producing written products based on that research. This experience must also include using computer software applications to organize and manage information; OR
• Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR two full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D. Qualifying education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR
• A combination of graduate education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation.)

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experiences, including volunteer experience.

Benefits

• Paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, telework, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Veterans Preference

If you are entitled to or claim veteran preference (VP), indicate the type of veteran preference (5 or 10 points) you are claiming on your resume. To verify your veteran preference entitlement, submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214; official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty; or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that shows your military service was performed under honorable conditions. If you are claiming 10-point preference, submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 in addition to the supporting documentation. If you are claiming 10-point derived preference as a relative, submit Member Copy 4 of the veteran's DD-214 and an SF-15 in addition to the supporting documentation.

General Employment Information

• DOJ EEO STATEMENT: Find our EEO statement online.
• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Additional information is found online.