Legal Assistant

Full Job Description

As a Legal Assistant (OA) at the GS-0986-7, you will be assigned to one of the following Legal Units: Birmingham, New York, or Minneapolis in the Office of General Counsel, U.S.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

If selected, you will be responsible for providing legal, technical, and clerical support to the trial attorneys and paralegal specialists within the Legal Unit.

For the GS-7: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level in the federal service.

Specialized experience includes performing administrative and legal support functions, such as maintaining litigation filing systems, tracking case files, providing critical support functions for depositions, hearings, trials, and providing routine guidance and information to staff, complainants, and/or their representatives on cases.

Merit promotion applicants must meet time-in-grade requirement as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. One year at the GS-6 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS- 7 level.

Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements (e.g., time-in-grade and qualification requirements) within 30 days of the closing date specified in the vacancy announcement.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Major Duties:

• Maintains electronic filing systems by accurately filing all correspondence, pleadings, notes, and other documents, and by making entries in electronically maintained indexing and docketing systems as directed by attorneys and staff.
• Completes word-processing projects, as directed by trial attorneys and paralegals, requiring the ability to independently use a variety of office automation software.
• Assists with the preparation, receipt, and transmittal of discovery responses, including copying and Bates stamping, unitizing, redacting, and converting electronic information into accessible and/or transmittable formats.
• Prepares pleadings and other documents for service and for filing with the court in person, by mail, and/or by electronic means.
• Checks public records databases to obtain information such as witness or claimant contact information for litigation purposes.
• Contacts and communicates with members of the public, charging parties and class members, opposing counsel, courts, litigants, witnesses, EEOC staff, and others.