Summary As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. Responsibilities As a primary Legal Assistant in the area of Financial Litigation, you will serve as a legal assistant responsible for directly and independently supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) related to complex financial litigation actions and matters. Typical work assignments will include: Providing substantive assistance to AUSAs in complex financial litigation matters; Independently developing, analyzing, and evaluating information regarding complex and/or unusual financial assets to assist AUSAs in cases; Providing training, guidance, and technical assistance to other legal support staff; Independently processing cases and legal matters by applying a thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of the office; Conducting extensive research or records, references, and/or historical material; Reviewing incoming material and determining the need for correspondence and legal documents such as motions, orders, pleadings, and subpoenas; Preparing a wide variety of legal documents, many of which are voluminous and complex in format; Obtaining and analyzing financial information on debtors to determine their present and future potential ability to pay; Initiating contact with debtors concerning payment of their obligations, their ability to pay, and negotiating written payment schedules to assure successful collection of debts; Reviewing and reconciling computerized debt collection printouts with office collection records; Communicating with debtors to present options for debt payments, answering questions, explaining pertinent procedures, clarifying information, and working cases to resolution; Providing technical processing activities associated with debt collection for criminal and/or civil debts; Preparing letters to referring agencies acknowledging receipt of claims; and Analyzing claims to determine the @type of indebtedness to record and maintaining proper debtor and account information. Responsibilities will increase, and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications GS-8: To be eligible at the GS-8 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience: Experience that includes performing the following: applying comprehensive legal regulations, precedents, and practices related to financial litigation issues; perform assistance work requiring extensive searches of records, references or historical material and comparisons with complex, voluminous or broadly written criteria; knowledge of a wide range of office and electronic litigation software applications to prepare complex legal documents and materials; skill in communicating complex and extensive information in verbal and written form. 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.) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component 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 receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Education Additional Information Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
