What are the responsibilities and job description for the Paralegal Specialist position at Office of Legal Counsel?
This announcement is for current permanent Department of Justice employees with competitive status and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates.
There may also be a positive education requirement for some occupations, please see the Education section for details. If there are licensing or certification requirements, please see the Required Documents section for details on how to verify you license or certificate.
For the GS-09: Specialized Experience: For the GS-9, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service which demonstrates providing support arranging, analyzing, or checking citation of legal documents and/or information needed for legal case processing.
GS-9 substitution of education for experience
Education: Master's Degree or two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D. in a field that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. (You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
For the GS-11: Specialized Experience: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service which demonstrates providing legal advice to the operation involving analyzing and researching legal documents for a variety of problems.
GS-11 substitution of education for experience:
Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade, by 04/20/2026 of this announcement.
Your resume must support your responses to the application 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.
Qualifications:
To qualify for the position of Paralegal Specialist, at GS-0950-9/11, you must meet the qualification requirements listed below.There may also be a positive education requirement for some occupations, please see the Education section for details. If there are licensing or certification requirements, please see the Required Documents section for details on how to verify you license or certificate.
For the GS-09: Specialized Experience: For the GS-9, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service which demonstrates providing support arranging, analyzing, or checking citation of legal documents and/or information needed for legal case processing.
GS-9 substitution of education for experience
Education: Master's Degree or two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D. in a field that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. (You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
For the GS-11: Specialized Experience: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service which demonstrates providing legal advice to the operation involving analyzing and researching legal documents for a variety of problems.
GS-11 substitution of education for experience:
Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade, by 04/20/2026 of this announcement.
Your resume must support your responses to the application 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.
Responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities for a GS-0950-Paralegal Specialist-9/11 generally include, but are not limited to, the following:- Responsible for assisting the Attorney General in the role of legal advisor to the President and Executive Branch agencies.
- Responsible for assisting in the management of all legal documents that flow through the office.
- Provide legal advice for responses for requests from the Counsel to the President, general counsels of Executive Branch departments and agencies, the National Security Council Legal Advisor, the Attorney General and other Department of Justice officials.
- Analyze and evaluate the relevance of particular technical evidence or questions which arise in the conduct of legal programs issues.
Salary : $70,623