PARALEGAL SPECIALIST

Full Job Description

The primary purpose of this position is to provide paralegal support and management assistance at the professional level to Air Force attorneys and clients in all area of law practiced by the 18th Wing Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Japan in a specialized, multi-function role, including general/civil law and military justice, and law office administration; and perform tasks as assigned by the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) and the Law Office Superintendent (LOS).

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Administrative and Management Positions, Paralegal Specialist, Series 0950.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-07, or equivalent in other pay systems.

Examples of specialized experience includes providing paralegal support and management assistance at the professional level to Air Force attorneys and clients; having knowledge of the principles, concepts, and methods of legal research and analysis sufficient to perform recurring case development and documentation assignments which are typically covered by established precedents; knowledge of legal techniques and skills necessary to analyze both issues of fact and issues of law in order to prepare digests of case decisions, evaluate the applicability of precedents, or to draft briefs, other litigation papers, advisory opinions, or findings; and knowledge in applying various laws, court and/or or administrative decisions and interpretations, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures which pertain to the administration of particular legal programs, such as the victim-witness program.

OR EDUCATION: Successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL. B or J.D.

in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. NOTE: You must submit copies of your college transcripts.

OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: An equivalent combination of specialized experience described above, and graduate level education (Only graduate level beyond the first year is creditable in the combination).

Note: You must submit a copy of transcripts.

FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible.

One year at the GS-07 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks.

NOTE: Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Knowledge of the principles, concepts, and methods of legal research and analysis sufficient to perform recurring case development and documentation assignments which are typically covered by established precedents and litigation activities of the Air Force and of statistical techniques sufficient to gather and analyze data and to evaluate its usefulness in resolving legal issues.

Knowledge of general operations of law enforcement and legal terminology, instructions, rules, regulations, and procedures relative to specialized legal and paralegal matters, and civilian personnel matters, in order to provide training and assistance and interviewing techniques sufficient to interview potential witnesses, victims, investigators, and other sources of information and skill in developing evidence to support the agency's litigation activities.

Knowledge of office functions to screen telephone calls and visitors, prepare and review correspondence, and perform other administrative work of the organization.

Ability to communicate effectively, in writing and verbal communications; to prepare legal briefs and summaries of analyses. Ability to analyze and solve problems.

Ability to operate computers and computer software programs, troubleshoot hardware and software problems on computer terminals, determine the best method to correct the issue and administer use of the local area network and resolve local area network connectivity problems.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work.

You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that 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:

Provides paralegal support in the Military Justice Division and provides assistance to other support and staff trial attorneys in the development of cases.

Responsible for administering the Base Discharge Program. Responsible for administration of those cases that require administrative discharge board proceedings.

Participates in the substantive development of cases in Gen Law/Civil Law. Performs Paralegal Support administrative duties in support of the legal office.