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-12922396-MS.

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.

GS-8: To be qualified at the GS-8 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience performing the following types of duties: preparing and processing a variety of technical legal correspondence and documents which are characteristically voluminous and complex in format (e.g.

pleadings, stipulations, motions, briefs, affidavits, complaints, orders, answers, subpoenas, and other legal documents); obtaining information from files, law enforcement agencies, or other sources; conducting factual and legal research in legal and non-legal databases and providing requested information to attorneys; aiding in the preparation and organization of evidence for production as discovery and for use in trial; managing paper and electronic discovery and evidence; independently compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and coding and indexing discovery documents using legal case management software.

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).

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-8.

If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and funding availability.

Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.

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 the Grand Jury Coordinator and Legal Assistant in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Western District of Washington.

You will be responsible for directly and independently supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) by providing a wide variety of technical assistance services related to complex grand jury actions and matters.

Typical work assignments will include: Independently researching and following the laws and specialized rules regarding grand jury proceedings and impanelment, reviewing cases to determine factual issues that may impact grand jury activities, protecting grand jury records and keeping files secure from public disclosure, making substantive processing determinations or initiating other actions based on an analysis of the situation or circumstances of the proceedings, and acting as authoritative liaison with other agencies regarding grand jury matters; Performing extensive searches of records, reference and/or historical material and independently researching, evaluating, and coordinating information to establish the facts and issues of specific litigation cases; Transcribing, preparing and distributing both complex confidential legal correspondence, reports and other documents; assisting in editing and compiling data for grand jury reports and supervising the secure reproduction and distribution of reports; Examining, preparing and processing technical legal correspondence and documents which are characteristically voluminous and complex in format; 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; 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.