Legal Administrative Specialist (Litigation Support)

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/.

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under
26-AK-12969339-MS.

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, OR Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing routine litigation support assignments such as assisting with organizing case information; preparing discovery productions, including scanning and coding documents and creating DVDs; assisting attorneys in preparing for court such as preparing exhibits; assisting in the use of technology to organize digital evidence; and editing a variety of legal documents;

OR

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, Computer Science, Law, IT) leading to a Master's degree OR completedBachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievementis 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

OR

Combining Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience as described above and graduate education described above which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of education, first determine the total number of graduate semester hours. Then divide the total number of your graduate semester hours by 18. To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. Transcripts are required.

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, OR Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience is defined as performing technical and analytical assistance to support the litigation team in a variety of automated support services necessary to prepare, organize, index, develop, and manage exhibits, evidence and data relevant to cases presented before a jury, grand jury, or other legal proceeding. Examples of specialized experience may include: providing technical assistance to litigation teams on legal automation requirements and system capabilities; performing a wide range of information systems analysis, development, and installation to support litigation support activities for assigned cases; operating a variety of computer hardware such as printers, plotters, and audio-visuals devices; and applying knowledge of court programs, automation requirement and characteristics to resolve problems;

OR

Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Law, IT): a Master's 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;

OR

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: 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/.

Responsibilities:

If selected for this position, you will serve as a member of the criminal legal support staff. In coordination with the office's System Manager, Litigation Support Unit, Division Chief's and support staff, the Legal Administrative Specialist will provide technical and analytical assistance to support the litigation needs of the United States Attorney's Office (USAO). Typical work assignments will include:

• Providing technical assistance to Assistant United States Attorneys in a developmental capacity to facilitate the management of incoming and outgoing document discovery in accordance with e-Discovery and other procedural requirements;
• Utilizing a variety of Automated Litigation Support (ALS) software applications to locate, organize, analyze, characterize and present information that is pertinent to the government's position in the case;
• Working with criminal AUSAs, investigators, federal agents and support staff to meet automated litigation needs
• Preparing and maintaining a variety of trial-related documents, e.g., discovery letters, exhibit lists, jury instructions, trial subpoenas, etc., by applying a thorough knowledge of the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and applying practical litigative experience.
• Drafting discovery letters identifying matters to be produced and memorializing their discovery. Maintaining records and copies of discovery produced.
• Providing legal assistant support to one or more assigned criminal AUSAs.
• Preparing computerized trial presentation programs.
• Using various automated legal research tools as well as public information databases and other automated resources to research case- or program-specific legal matters.

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

Salary : $57,055