Legal Assistant (OA)

Summary

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia's mission is to enforce the criminal laws of the United States and the District of Columbia, represent the interests of the United States in civil litigation, and respond to the public safety needs of the community by leading an effective, well-coordinated law enforcement effort that contributes to the overall goal of improving the quality of life in the District of Columbia.

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Duties

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This Legal Assistant (OA) will be responsible for knowledge of the processes, procedures, and practices of legal support activities in conjunction with a knowledge of skills, and an ability to apply these skills to increase the effectiveness of attorneys in the Appellate Division.

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing Legal Assistant (OA) support in the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia, located in Washington, District of Columbia, focusing in the areas of Appeals.

Typical work assignments will include:

• Examines, prepares, and processes a variety of technical legal documents.
• Develops tables of contents and indices to briefs in accordance with established format.
• Performs general clerical/administrative functions such as copying, binding and preparing record materials for court filings.
• Performs docketing duties such as opening, updating and closing cases through use of the automated case tracking system.
• Performs document retrieval and case material research, retrieves documents from DC Superior Court files, District of Columbia Court of Appeal files and other sources as needed.

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 United States Citizen or National to apply for this position.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• 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.
• A probationary period may be required.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• Must provide resume and supporting documents (See required documents).
• You must meet all qualifications requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
• As needed, additional selections may be made using this announcement.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying:

To qualify at the GS-06 level, you must possess:

Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service performing (obtained in either the public or private sectors) (3) of the (4) duties listed below:

1. Preparing or processing legal documents;
2. Maintaining case files or docket information using automated case management systems;
3. Researching or verifying legal information from legal databases or other sources;
4. Providing administrative and legal support to attorneys including organizing case materials, responding to inquiries or coordinating with court personnel.

Typing Proficiency : To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors. (A typing test may later be required.)

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR 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.

If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Justice requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a clearance as a condition of placement in this Special Sensitive/High Risk position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan ( 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 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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility, click here.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan ( CTAP ) provides eligible surplus and displaced 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 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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. Additional information about CTAP eligibility, click here.

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: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

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.