Juristische​/r Sachbearbeiter​/in

Juristische / r Sachbearbeiter / in

Stuttgart, Germany

This vacancy announcement is ONLY for current INTERNAL Local National Employees throughout Germany. This covers all current Local National employees of the U.S. Forces in Germany, including U.S. Air Force and AAFES-Europe within Germany.

• Office automation skills required.

Serves as Paralegal Specialist to the Chief of Client Services Stuttgart Law center, providing the following services.

1. Receive, review, and prepare for settlement or other disposition, claims against the US Government.

a. Perform claimant intake. Maintain contact with claimants. Investigate claims, including inspections off-site and outdoors. Make claim disposition recommendations. Adjudicate claims and review computations of other adjudicators and clerks for accuracy in accordance with directives and policies. Keep abreast of changes by studying incoming directives, decisions, regulations, policy statements, interpretations of regulations and legal publications. Prepare files and all necessary documentation for signature of claims attorney.

Vouch for accuracy and legality of larger claims by own signature upon completion of adjudication for payment. Transmit the approved claims for payment. If claim settlement cannot be effected, or if claim is recommended for disapproval, prepare legal analysis of the reasons in a formal memorandum of opinion for the claims attorney's signature. Perform preventive law briefings to the community.

b. Prepare monthly and other reports as required by higher headquarters. Prepare translations from German into English and vice versa of statements of witnesses, legal documents, excerpts from military or civil codes, medical reports, appraisals, experts' opinions, estimates of damage, police reports and other documents using highly technical language. Also acts as interpreter when required and assists claimants in acquiring estimates for damaged personal items with local vendors.

Applying technical knowledge, make recommendations as to total or partial acceptance or denial of legal liability. Corroborate recommendations for adjudication through written statements of reasoning. Maintain contacts with garrison resources and operations that generally produce claims.

c. Implement office and shared-drive organization so that the claims mission is carried out in an efficient, professional and customer-friendly manner. Maintain physical and online claimant files containing sensitive information and personally identifiable information.

2. Provide advice and respond to inquiries in legal assistance and tax matters by explaining pertinent legal provisions, regulations, and related administrative practices and their application to specific cases, by assisting clients in preparing documents, referring clients to outside agencies as appropriate, and otherwise assisting clients in the resolution of their legal problems. The work requires a high degree of skill in oral communication and a good working knowledge of office procedures.

Work extends to various legal processes and involves issues associated with various areas of law, including host-nation law.

a. Establish, maintain, and foster relationships with garrison agencies for the purpose of community-focused preventive law. Disseminate educational materials and collaborate with other organizations. Inform community of preventive law measures. These measures must be well-timed to target specific, ongoing issues for the community. The incumbent must independently recognize ongoing, potential, and previous legal issues affecting the community and work with supervising attorney to develop resolutions of these issues.

Assesses impact of preventive law measures. Keeps abreast of relevant changes or developments in laws and regulations.

b. Perform victim-witness liaison duties as required to support the Special Victim's Counsel mission.

c. Determine client eligibility for services, scans for conflicts as required, and where appropriate, directs clients to other responsible organizations. Receive phone calls, identify all associated facts of client inquiries and, when appropriate, schedule client with attorney. Coordinate with other organizations in the community to ensure legal documents prepared for clients will be accepted for the purpose intended.

d. Advise clients in the applicability of laws and regulations in matters involving the scope of Client Services. Provide responses to specific inquiries applying guidelines to individual cases and interpreting the effect of precedents. Outline alternative actions that can be taken in regard to specific cases. Explain to clients the general requirements for legal documents. Monitor the flow of individual cases and address administrative obstacles.

e. Provide support to attorneys by collecting data research of cases and legal issues for Chief, Client Services, Stuttgart Law Center, and provide attorneys with written summaries of…