Summary For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit www.justice.gov/usao/ As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced under Merit Promotion Procedures under 26-MIW-12989195-MS. Responsibilities If selected, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing a range of legal and administrative support services to attorneys in complex criminal matters. At the full performance level, duties will include (but are not limited to): Intaking and organizing sometimes voluminous discovery materials in a variety of formats, including paper and electronic records. Conducting factual and legal research in support of investigations and cases. Analyzing evidentiary materials, including documentary records, witness statements, and audio, video, and image files. Drafting, proofreading, and editing legal filings and related documents. Supporting courtroom presentations, such as by identifying potential exhibits and witnesses, compiling jury instructions, and using trial presentation software and courtroom equipment to display exhibits at court. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications GS-7: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience. - Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service or equivalent paid/nonpaid experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing routine legal assistance tasks in a legal environment that require knowledge of litigative procedures. Specialized experience includes: (1) preparing routine legal documents such as motions, notices, subpoenas, proposed orders, and standard correspondence; (2) supporting the discovery process by indexing and organizing discovery materials; transmitting discovery productions; maintaining discovery logs; and tracking productions to opposing counsel; (3) assisting with hearing and trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing evidentiary exhibits; preparing witness and exhibit lists; and assembling trial notebooks; and (4) assisting with trial preparation and courtroom presentations by preparing trial exhibits such as charts, graphs, and timelines and presenting trial exhibits in court using trial presentation software. - Education: Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher-level graduate education (18 semester hours or the number of units your school uses to describe one graduate year of academic study) in related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law or Legal Studies, Political Science, Government, History, English) leading to a master's degree OR bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievement is as follows: standing in the upper third of your graduating class or major subdivision OR membership in one of the national scholastic honor Societies; OR Grade Point Average. Applicants must have a grade point average of: (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. - Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, a combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education as described above, which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. GS-9: To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. - Specialized experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal service or equivalent paid/nonpaid experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is includes: (1) drafting routine legal documents and correspondence such as routine motions, pretrial filings, summonses, or subpoenas; (2) managing discovery materials in multiple formats and utilizing appropriate software applications to organize, store, review, and manage discovery and evidence; (3) assisting attorneys with preliminary review of incoming discovery or evidentiary materials and identifying information relevant to assigned criminal or civil cases; (4) conducting factual and non-complex legal research in legal and non-legal databases in support of investigations and cases; (5) assisting with hearing or trial preparation by preparing trial subpoenas, assembling evidentiary exhibits, and preparing demonstrative exhibits; and (6) supporting attorneys during court proceedings or other live case presentations by operating trial presentation software and equipment to display exhibits or demonstratives, maintaining exhibit accounting systems, and coordinating witness logistics. - Education: One of the following @types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law or Legal Studies, Political Science, Government, History, English): a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D., if related); OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. - Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year. GS-11: To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized experience includes: (1) managing discovery materials in multiple formats, including receiving, indexing, and organizing incoming discovery; and preparing, transmitting, and tracking outgoing discovery productions (2) performing case development activities including analyzing discovery and evidentiary materials; (3) assisting attorneys with trial preparation and presentation, including witness coordination, preparation of exhibits, and creation of demonstratives including charts and graphs, and providing courtroom presentation support; (4) conducting factual and legal research and preparing written summaries of factual and legal research; (5) using automated litigation support technology programs to process electronic discovery materials for retrieval and index digital evidence; and (6) ensures discovery and case development activities are complete, accurate, and timely at each stage of investigation or litigation. Education: One of the following @types of education in a related field (e.g. Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Law, IT): Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree in a related field; OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., if related. Education must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. Combining Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience as described in A and education as described in B which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. (Only graduate level education in excess of the first two years can be used in this calculation.) Note: In order to be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure that your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience that you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly stated in your resume, you may not be considered for this position. Education All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov. OR Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. Additional Information Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. A relocation incentive may be considered as appropriate based on qualifications. 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. 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/ Veterans' Preference - If you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the @type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the required veterans' preference documentation as specified in the, "Required Documents" section of this vacancy announcement. 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 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/Policy: 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. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. 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.
