Legal Assistant, Department of Justice – 475493200

Legal Assistant (Office Automation)
Department of Justice
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys            

Open & closing dates
2017-07-31 to 2017-08-01

Salary
$32,844 to $52,893 / per year

Pay scale & grade
GS 5 – 7

Series
0986 Legal Assistance

Appointment type
Permanent

Work schedule
Full-Time

Job announcement number
17-SC-10030866-DE

Control number
475493200

Locations
1 vacancy in the following location:
Columbia, SC

 

Job Overview

Summary

About the Agency

If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! With a diverse and talented workforce of over 100,000 men and women, Justice leads the Nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. You will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal and civil laws that protect life, liberty and the property of citizens.

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO)/Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) is a great place to work. The Department of Justice ranked #6 out of 18 large agencies and EOUSA/United States Attorneys’ Offices ranked #59 out of 305 agency subcomponents in a study, “The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, 2016 Ratings” published by the Partnership for Public Service. See http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/index.php

The main office is located in Columbia, SC, with branches also located in Florence, Greenville, and Charleston. Each of these cities, along with the entire State of South Carolina, offers a wonderful climate and a wide variety of cultural, educational, recreational, and social activities. For more information about Columbia click the following weblink: http://www.columbiacvb.com/.

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 17-SC-10030868-MP.

This announcement will be closed on the day the 50th application is received or on the closing date, whichever comes first.

Duties

If selected for this position, you will support Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) in the Criminal Division by providing a variety of legal support services. You will receive formal and on-the-job training as needed. Typical work assignments will include:

  • examining, preparing and processing a variety of legal documents, such as complaints, indictments, motions, responses, and orders;
  • producing a variety of written documents and materials using a wide range of office software applications;
  • maintaining the case file so that it is current and documents are easily accessed;
  • providing assistance to attorneys in trial preparation, including issuing subpoenas, assembling exhibits, and assisting with discovery management;
  • calendaring court hearings for individual AUSAs and the criminal division master calendar;
  • scheduling conferences and interviews, receiving telephone calls and visitors;
  • reading, screening and appropriately addressing incoming mail;
  • arranging travel by preparing itinerary and securing transportation and hotel reservations; and
  • assembling and organizing files and material for disposition or transfer to records depository.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Supervisory Status
No

Promotion Potential
7

Travel Required

  • Occasional Travel
  • Occasional travel may be required for this position.

Relocation Authorized
No

Job Requirements

Key Requirements

  • You must be a United States Citizen or National.
  • Background investigation, credit check, and drug test required.
  • You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.

Qualifications

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.)

Qualifications: To be eligible at the GS-5 level, you must have: at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level; or four years of education above high school level; or a combination of both specialized experience and education. Specialized experience is defined as experience reviewing documents with legal implications for accuracy and completeness (e.g., court documents, real estate documents, contracts, insurance or benefits claims, mortgage or loan applications, tax forms, or other types of legal documents); typing and formatting correspondence and forms; maintaining file systems; and obtaining needed information from files or general reference sources.

Combining Education and Experience: Successfully completed post-high school education may be used to meet the total one year of specialized experience requirement equivalent to the GS-4 level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.

To be eligible at the GS-6 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience reviewing legal documents such as complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels for completeness of information; retrieving and assembling information for hearing and/or trial use; researching a variety of legal sources to obtain and/or verify information; and using automated software to produce legal related reports, documents, correspondence and related materials.

To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level. Specialized experience is defined as providing assistance to attorneys by preparing complaints, motions, subpoenas, orders, and other hearing and/or trial documents accurately and in proper format; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; assisting with discovery, hearing or trial preparation by performing duties such as compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and using automated software to produce legal related reports and documents, including developing tables of contents and indices to briefs.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) – The 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 the 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 proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

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/

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.

If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Security Clearance

Public Trust – Background Investigation

Additional Information

What To Expect Next

We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation, to include a credit check, and drug test by urinalysis. We expect to make a final job offer within 80 days after the closing date of the announcement.

BENEFITS

Review our benefits

Other 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.

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: The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a parent, genetic information, disability, age, membership or non membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism.

This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/475493200. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.