Legal Assistant (Office Automation)

Full Job Description

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-WAW-12878176-MS.

GS-5: To be eligible at the GS-5 level, you must have: at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in Federal service; OR four years of education above the high school level; OR a combination of both specialized experience and education as explained below.

Specialized experience is defined as experience 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 Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience (as defined above) and post-high school education may be used to meet the total experience requirements for the GS-05 grade level.

Only post-high school education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the qualification requirements.

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

GS-6: To be eligible at the GS-6 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience 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.

GS-7: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience 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 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.

IMPORTANT: In your resume or cover letter, please include specific details about your level of expertise and experience in the following areas: Conducting factual and legal research in legal and non-legal databases Preparing and processing legal process and correspondence Organizing and preparing a large amount of documentation To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5-minute sample with three or 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, you will serve as a Legal Assistant (Office Automation) for the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Western District of Washington.

At the full performance level, you will be responsible for directly and independently supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) by providing a wide variety of legal assistance and office support services.

Duties include: Maintaining attorney calendars; tracking filing, deadlines, hearings, and trial dates, and scheduling conference rooms and travel; Proofreading and cite checking legal briefs, memoranda, and other legal documents; Examining, preparing and processing technical legal correspondence and documents which are characteristically voluminous and complex in format; Organizing, processing, and copying documents in accordance with requirements; Preparing and organizing evidence for production as discovery and for use in trial; Managing paper and electronic documents and evidence such as PDF files, image files, audio files, video files, bank records, forensic reports, and other file types; Conducting document searches, organizing documents, conducting first level review, and coordinating document production; Ensuring records are retained in a manner that will facilitate effective retrieval, including those in connection with potential discovery operations; Obligating funds for litigation expenses and monitoring for continued necessity; reviewing bills and invoices and submitting to budget office for payment and; Administrative duties, such as receiving visitors and phone calls; processing incoming/outgoing mail and packages, monitoring supplies, and other facilities support functions.

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