Legal Assistant (OA) - Environmental Defense Section

This position is located in the Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Section represents the United States in complex litigation arising under a broad range of environmental statutes and defends the United States against challenges to its cleanup and compliance actions at Superfund sites, federally owned facilities and private sites. The incumbent will perform legal support tasks associated with Section litigation. Qualifications GS-5 To qualify for GS-5, you must have one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-4 Federal grade level or above applying standardized rules, processes, and procedures concerning commonly utilized general reference sources and legal research tools to perform a variety of legal support work. This experience must include preparing correspondence and administrative forms using proper format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Or, successful completion of 4 years of education above the high school level in any field where high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable and fully meets the qualification requirements at GS-5. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial, or technical school, junior college, or university. Or, a combination of post‑high school education in excess of the first 60 semester hours and specialized experience may also be used to meet the qualification requirements at GS-5. Note: One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. GS-6 To qualify for GS-6, you must have one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-5 Federal grade level or above composing standardized legal forms needed for specific actions; preparing trial exhibits, affidavits, and legal documents in preparation for trials; and maintaining litigation case files. There is no substitution of education for experience to qualify at the GS-6 level. GS-7 To qualify for GS-7, you must have one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-6 Federal grade level or above conducting searches of legal documents and court cases; verifying statutory references and legal citations; and developing tables of authorities, tables of contents, and indices to briefs. Or, one full year of graduate level education directly related to the work of the position (e.g., law or paralegal studies) may be substituted for the specialized experience. Or, a combination of specialized experience and directly related graduate education may also be used to meet 100% of the qualification requirements at GS-7. Note: Nine semester hours of graduate education directly related to the work of the position is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. GS-8 To qualify for GS-8, you must have one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level or above applying legal regulations and procedures to coordinate all aspects of court and trial proceedings including court filings; establishing and maintaining litigation case files which include pleadings and discovery documents; and performing legal research including verifying case citations. There is no substitution of education for experience to qualify at the GS-8 level. Typing Requirement This position requires a qualified typist with a minimum typing speed of 40 words per minute. If you do not self‑certify on the occupational/assessment questionnaire that you have the required typing proficiency, you will be rated ineligible for this position. This position requires office automation skills. Some examples of office automation skills include database management and various word processing software packages (MS Office Suite: Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) and database applications. Experience and Education Experience includes paid and unpaid work, including volunteer work through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps; AmeriCorps) and other professional, philanthropic, or community organizations. Volunteer work may be credited toward meeting the qualification requirements. All qualifying experience will be considered for the legacy position. #J-18808-Ljbffr