Legal Assistant (Office Automation)

Full Job Description

The salary range including locality pay applicable to location, depending on grade is as follows: Albany: $42,027 to $67,678 Per Year Syracuse: $40,736 to $65,599 Per Year A recruitment incentive may be authorized for this position.

(See Additional Information section for more details.) 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-NYN-12923527-MS.

To be qualified at the GS-05 level, you must have: at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to work at the GS-04 level in Federal service, which has equipped you with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and could have been gained in the federal, public, or private sector; OR four years of education above the high school level or a Bachelor's or higher degree; OR a combination of both specialized experience and education as explained below.

Specialized experience is defined as experience performing the following types of duties: reviewing documents with legal implications for accuracy and completeness (e.g., court documents, real estate documents, contracts, insurance or benefits claims, mortgage or loan applications, tax forms, or other types of legal documents); typing and formatting correspondence and forms; maintaining file systems; and obtaining needed information from files or general reference sources.

Combining Specialized Experience and Education: Successfully completed post-high school education may be used to meet the total one year of specialized experience requirement equivalent to the GS-04 grade level.

Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.

One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.

To be qualified at the GS-06 level, you must have: at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to work at the GS-05 level in Federal service, which has equipped you with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and could have been gained in the federal, public, or private sector.

Specialized experience is defined as experience performing the following types of duties: reviewing legal documents such as complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels for completeness of factual information; retrieving and assembling information for hearing and/or trial use; researching a variety of legal sources to obtain and/or verify information; and using automated software to produce legal related reports, documents, correspondence, and related materials.

To be qualified at the GS-07 level, you must have: at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to work at the GS-06 level in Federal service, which has equipped you with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and could have been gained in the federal, public, or private sector.

Specialized experience is defined as experience performing the following types of duties: providing trial support to attorneys by preparing complaints, motions, subpoenas, orders, or other hearing and/or trial documents accurately and in proper format; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; assisting with discovery, hearing, or trial preparation by performing duties such as compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and using automated software applications and legal and non-legal databases to produce legal-related reports and documents, conduct factual research, develop tables of contents and indices to briefs, and prepare courtroom presentations.

To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute on a 5-minute sample with three of fewer errors. (A typing test may later be required).

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/. Major Duties:

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing a variety of legal assistance and office support services for Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) assigned to the Criminal or Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.

If selected, you will receive formal and/or on-the-job training as needed.

Typical work assignments will include: examining, preparing, and processing a variety of technical legal documents, e.g., complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels; proofreading and cite checking legal briefs, memoranda, and other legal documents; providing assistance to attorneys in trial preparation by conducting non-complex research of litigation, statutes, regulations, and court cases; assembling exhibits, affidavits, and other legal documents, utilizing automated litigation support software; assembling and organizing files and records material for disposition or transfer to records depository; maintaining calendar of assigned active cases; tracking filing, hearing, and trials dates, and scheduling conferences and interviews; arranging travel by preparing itinerary and securing transportation and hotel reservations; adhering to and utilizing eLitigation protocols for receiving and producing discovery materials; and producing a variety of written documents and materials using a wide range of office software applications.

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