Remote Part-Time Paralegal

Summary The Paralegal Specialist position is located in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in various offices throughout the Office of General Counsel (OGC). The mission is to provide legal advice and services to the SECVA and all organizational components of the Department. The General Counselis, by statute, the Department's Chief Legal Officer. Evaluates and makes final determinations or recommendations on the client requests, complaints, and claims, as authorized. Anticipates program or case requirements, with guidance from Senior Specialists, develops legal arguments and supporting evidence, resolves conflicting statements, or searches for corroborating or contravening precedents. Investigates and becomes thoroughly familiar with subject matter details involved in a case or legal matter, including but not limited to, interviewing claimants and witnesses. Assists Senior Specialists to determine the specific data needed and best approach to obtain this data in order to determine the relevance or sufficiency of available legal, technical (i.e. financial, statistical), or other related data. Participates in providing direct legal services to clients on case and/or program assignments. Plans and carries out assignments and coordinates activities with professional legal staff of the agency and with staff of other Federal or non-Federal activities. Takes necessary actions to support and provide back up for other paraprofessional colleagues to ensure smooth operations within the organization. Obtains, analyzes, develops and applies relevant facts and law to assigned work. Assists Senior Specialists in reviewing complaints, claims, requests for legal advice and supporting documentation submitted. Assists Senior Specialists in preparing memoranda, briefs, draft legal opinions, and/or written documents needed to deliver accurate, timely and effective legal services. Coordinates and manages the administrative portions of assigned programs and/or work units within the organization. Reviews workforce statistics and reporting data needed to support managerial oversight functions such as, workload balancing, work-sharing arrangements, client and incumbent satisfaction tasks, performance measurements, and presentation and briefing materials for attorneys and supervisors. Uses sound judgment in recommending improvements in administrative procedures. Maintains complete and accurate time and status entries in the organizations case management systems, scanning/embedding case information, establishing follow ups, and managing systems for sharing information and organizing program work. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PD33072A and PD33071A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; Upon completion of your probationary period one year probationary period or two year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 level. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. Investigating and becoming thoroughly familiar with subject matter details involved in a case or legal matter, including but not limited to, interviewing claimants and witnesses; Coordinating and managing the administrative portions of assigned programs and/or work units within the organization. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first full year. Participating in providing direct legal services to clients on case and/or program assignments; Assisting Senior Specialists in preparing memoranda, briefs, draft legal opinions, and/or written documents needed to deliver accurate, timely and effective legal services. D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 full years of graduate education. 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., spiritual; community; student; Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Physical Requirements: The work primarily sedentary and may involve some slight physical effort such as using a computer at a desk, sitting in conferences/meetings, standing, walking, bending, pushing a small cart, carrying light items, lifting moderate weighty items. Typing and data entry using a keyboard is required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. Supporting legal service delivery on assigned matters, including but not limited to, fact finding, problem analysis, problem solving, legal writing, and summarizing regulations and policies. Interpretating and implementing of existing policy and standards for the assigned areas. . Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50 mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420 Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration (HRA) at The Fair Chance Act. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. 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. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: