Paralegal Specialist

Summary

You will serve as a Paralegal Specialist.This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Alaska Region, Anchorage, Alaska.

Pay will vary based on grade level for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

GS-09 : $69,789 (step 1) - $90,731(step 10)

GS-11: $84,439 (step 1) - $109,777(step 10)

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) rate of 1.49% is authorized.

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Duties

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Assisting attorneys with administrative and judicial litigation;
• Preparing templates for court filings, draft letters or other correspondence associated with case management;
• Performing legal research with attorney direction to summarize legislative history materials, locating relevant information in office archives, and staying current on regulatory, legislative, and other legal developments;
• Providing litigation support to attorneys by preparing pleading templates, reviewing discovery, organizing documents, and proofreading and cite-checking draft pleadings;
• Reviewing, organizing, and monitoring administrative and judicial cases and completing updates to appropriate tracking tools as needed;
• Assisting client agencies with compilation of the Administrative Record, initial disclosures, and discovery requests;
• Organizing and maintaining documents in paper and electronic filing systems.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home occasionally. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
• You must be at least 18 years old.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/17/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements : To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level , you must have Specialized Experience, Education, or a combination of Specialized Experience and Education as follows:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) and your resume must include hours per week worked. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience in AT LEAST ONE of the following:
  • reviewing case materials, searching for and summarizing relevant articles in magazines, law reviews, published studies, reports, and/or similar materials for use of attorneys in the preparation of opinions, briefs, and other legal documents; OR
  • reviewing and collecting documentary evidence and arranging case files for use in a variety of legal proceedings; OR
  • monitoring the progress of pending cases and initiating action to ensure that legal pleadings, forms, reports, correspondences, and/or other documents are prepared and submitted within established timelines.
• Education: Successful completion of at least a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Master's or equivalent degree, or an LL.B. or J.D. directly related to the duties of the position. (Degree must reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.). You must include transcripts.
• Combination of education and experience . To combine education and experience, first find the percentage of education completed that is leading to a Master's degree. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level , you must have Specialized Experience, Education, or a combination of Specialized Experience and Education as follows:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) and your resume must include hours per week worked. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience in ALL of the following:
  • reviewing case materials, searching for and summarizing relevant articles in magazines, law reviews, published studies, reports, and/or similar materials for use of attorneys in the preparation of opinions, briefs, and other legal documents; AND
  • reviewing and collecting documentary evidence and arranging case files for use in a variety of legal proceedings; AND
  • monitoring the progress of pending cases and initiating action to ensure that legal pleadings, forms, reports, correspondences, and/or other documents are prepared and submitted within established timelines.
• Education: Successful completion of at least 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or an LL.M directly related to the duties of the. (Degree must reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.). You must include transcripts.
• Combination of education and experience . To combine education and experience, first find the percentage of education completed that is leading to a doctoral degree. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

Volunteer Experience: 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 skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

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 Competency Based 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.

Related Non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630).

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here,

The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

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.