Paralegal Specialist

Overview

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

GS-05: To be eligible at the GS-5 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below:

• Specialized
  
  Experience:
  
  Performing paralegal or legal assistance work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of legal research. Examples include processing a variety of legal documents under close supervision; planning and organizing work; performing basic legal research; preparing rough drafts of briefs and other legal documents; assembling exhibits and legal documents; verifying citations and statutory references.
• Education: Four years of education above the high school level or a bachelor s degree in a closely related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law).
• 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.

GS-07: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below:

• Specialized
  
  Experience:
  
  One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondence; assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing and indexing various evidentiary exhibits; reviewing legal documents to extract information related to specific issues; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; and utilizing various computerized database programs to organize extensive documents.
• Education: One full year of graduate level education leading to a Master s degree or higher; or a completed Bachelor s Degree or equivalent with Superior Academic Achievement. As defined by the Office of Personnel Management s Qualification Standards, Superior Academic Achievement is the completion of a full four year course of study leading to a bachelor s degree and meets one of the following provisions: (1) a GPA of 3.0 or higher for all completed undergraduate coursework or for all courses completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work;
  
  (2) a GPA of 3.5 or higher for all courses in the major field of study, or those courses in a major completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work; (3) ranking in the upper one-third of a college, university, or major subdivision or (4) membership in a national scholastic honor society.
• 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.

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:…