Summary
You will serve as a Lead Paralegal Specialist in the Federal Programs Branch with the responsibility for overseeing the assignment and distribution of appropriate litigation support assignments necessary for accomplishing the work of the Branch. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, developing and maintaining internal procedural guidance on electronic filings and directly providing paralegal support on significant, complex cases and matters of national security.
This job is open to
Internal to an agency
Current federal employees of this agency.
Clarification from the agency
This announcement is ONLY open to current Department of Justice employees on a permanent appointment in the competitive service.
Duties
The duties and responsibilities for a Lead Paralegal Specialist, GS-0950-12 generally include, but are not limited to, the following:
Conducting legal research of substantial variety and complexity, such as performing legal research either in conjunction with an ongoing case or as a discrete assignment.
Participating in all aspects of discovery and assisting the Branch attorneys with case development and preparation for evidentiary hearings and trials.
Conducting or assisting attorneys in conducting interviews with investigative sources and prospective witnesses.
Working with others to make recommendations for improving the available electronic resources in the office's transformation into an automated litigation environment.
Coordinating with the Supervisory Paralegal Specialist to ensure that work is assigned to the appropriate position/staff member.
Performing limited human resource management functions such as participating in and providing recommendations for staffing and hiring decisions for paralegals, legal assistants, and student interns.
Coordinating the training of new and incumbent paralegals, legal assistants, and student interns.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
You must be a United States Citizen or National.
You must successfully pass a security/background investigation and a drug screening.
You must be a current Federal employee within the Department of Justice on a Competitive Service appointment.
You must meet all applicable time-in-grade requirements by the closing of this announcement.
You must meet all eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement and continue to meet those requirements throughout the hiring process. Offers can be rescinded if requirements are not met.
You will be required to obtain and maintain a final Top Secret Clearance. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in withdrawal of the job offer or removal.
Qualifications
To qualify for the position of Lead Paralegal Specialist, (GS-0950-12), you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below AND possess the required specialized experience specific to this series and grade.
If you are a current Department of Justice employee on a permanent appointment in the competitive service, you will need to demonstrate 1-year (52-weeks) at the next lower grade level, to meet the time-in-grade requirements for this occupational series and grade. Time-in-Grade applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. Additionally, please ensure to submit an applicable SF-50 (please refer to the "required documents" section for additional information).
To qualify for the GS-12 Lead Paralegal position, you must demonstrate that you have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level performing such duties as conducting legal research, drafting legal pleadings, briefs, motions; participating in all aspects of discovery and assisting attorneys with case development and preparation for evidentiary hearings and trials; performing case management duties encompassing diverse and complex technical issues.
You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including Time-in-Grade, by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.
You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including Time-in-Grade, by the closing date of this announcement, 03/28/2024.
YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.
Education
There is no educational requirement for this position.
Additional information
This vacancy is open to current DOJ employees and CTAP eligibles. See below for more information:
CURRENT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE EMPLOYEES: Employees who currently work for the Department of Justice, or any of it's components (i.e. FBI, DEA, ATF, USTP, JMD, etc.) on a permanent appointment in the competitive service. Contractor employees and those on Excepted Service appointments are not eligible.
CTAP ELIGIBLES: For more information visit: USAJOBS Career Transition Programs
REASONABLE ACCOMODATION STATEMENT: Our policy can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/eeos/manual-and-procedures-providing-reasonable-accommodation
DOJ EEO STATEMENT: The U.S. Department of Justice fosters an inclusive and diverse workforce, find our EEO statement online at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1394116/download
SELECTIVE SERVICE: If you were born male, on or 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. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov.
Benefits
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the announcement closes, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted by the HR Specialist. This information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible, or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities.
Additionally, we will review your supporting documents and resume to determine if you are in the "Area of Consideration" for this vacancy. Government-Wide Merit Promotion vacancies may only accept applications from a limited audience, pay careful attention to the "Who May Apply" and the "Hiring Paths" information. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
When addressing the specialized experience statement, applicants must present evidence of the experience in their resume. If the specialized experience statement is repeated, in the applicant's resume, Human Resources will deem the applicant as ineligible.
BASIS OF RATING: DOJ's Merit Promotion Procedures will be used to evaluate candidates.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):
Leadership
Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
Oral Communication
Teaching Others
Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): This program applies to DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
Meet CTAP eligibility criteria;
Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility.
DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation within the last year and 2) performance award in the last three years (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc. Pay adjustments are not awards. ) Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.
Required Documents
Documentation requirements may vary from applicant to applicant based on your eligibility claims.
It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of document descriptions below, to see which documents are required for your application.
ALL APPLICANTS: You must submit a detailed resume containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history:
Official position title;
Employer name and contact information;
Start and end dates (including month and year);
A detailed list of duties & accomplishments,
Your grade/step achieved; and
The number of hours worked per week (or indicate full-time).
If you are a current DOJ employee:
You must submit your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent agency form. Do not submit an award SF-50, these do not contain sufficient information about your appointment
Your SF-50 should list the full position title, series, grade and step, organization, duty location, service computation date, effective date, and your service type and tenure status.
Submit a copy of your most recent performance evaluation or appraisal, signed, showing your final rating. If a performance appraisal is not available submit a statement explaining why one is not available.
If you are a displaced former DOJ employee claiming eligibility under CTAP:
You must submit your separation notice or RIF letter.
If you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you from the agency because of reduction-in-force.
See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
USAJOBS - What documents might I need to provide?
Application Manager - Documents
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 03/28/2024 to receive consideration.
If you would like to preview the assessment questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12116561
Click "Apply Online" to get started.
If you're not logged in to your USAJOBS account, you will need to login. If you don't have an account, please create one.
You will be prompted to select one of your stored (or uploaded) resumes, and any supporting documents you have uploaded to USAJOBS. If you have not uploaded these documents, you can do so later before submitting your application.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, you will be asked to submit your demographic information (if you have provided this in your profile). Submission is optional and anonymous.
You'll be asked to confirm your choices and certify the accuracy of your information before you're able to continue to the Application Manager system. Until you see the blue border and DOJ logo, you are still on USAJOBS. You'll see a folder animation just before you leave USAJOBS.
Once you reach DOJ's Application Manager system, you'll be asked to verify the information you transmitted from USAJOBS. You will then respond to the application assessment questionnaires and indicate your eligibility options.
After responding to the questionnaires, you will have the opportunity to attach the documents you brought over from USAJOBS *OR* upload documents directly from your computer or device.
If you opt to upload a document directly, click the "Upload" button and select the document on your device, then wait for the upload to finish. Repeat as needed. Documents must be less than 3 MB each and should be in a compatible file format.
Once all your documents are uploaded, you must assign the uploads to the appropriate document category. You may attach more than one document to each category. Click the drop-down menu for a document category, and select one of the available options in the menu. The document will be listed under this category. You can click the drop-down again to add other documents, as needed. You can have up to 15 document assignments.
Once you've uploaded and assigned all your documents to an appropriate document type, you can proceed to the final verification step, and click Submit.
If you have correctly submitted your application, you will receive an automated e-mail notification within 30-60 minutes. Be sure to review the announcement fully to make sure that your application contains everything that is required.
If you need help with the application process, please see the USAJOBS Site (for everything on the USAJOBS-side), or the Application Manager Site (for everything on the DOJ-side).
Regrettably, the Department of Justice cannot assist you with USAJOBS account issues. If you contact us for assistance and the problem is related to your USAJOBS account, we will have to direct you to USAJOBS to remedy the issue.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS:
If you are unable to apply online due to a disability or overseas deployment, you must request an alternative application, which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Christina Crutcher at christina.a.crutcher@usdoj.gov or 202-305-5382 to discuss your situation. Accommodations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Agency contact information
Christina Crutcher
Phone
202-305-5382
Email
christina.a.crutcher@usdoj.gov
Address
Civil Division
1100 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20530
US
Next steps
You will receive e-mail notifications as your application status is updated by DOJ. However, you can also see your application status any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account and looking on the "Applications" page. Click the position title to expand the display for each application in the list. Click here to learn more about checking your application status, or see what each application status means.
We strive to extend a final offer of employment within 90 days from the close of this announcement. Delays do sometimes occur for reasons beyond our control. Additional selections may be made from this announcement if openings in other offices occur within 90 days, candidates who are referred to the hiring office, may be referred to other hiring offices in this scenario.
Additional selections may be made from this announcement, for up to 90 days.