PARALEGAL SPECIALIST

Full Job Description

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The primary purpose of this position is: Provide general administrative support, and legal support to the Chief and trial attorneys in the Commercial Litigation Field Support Center, Air Force Legal Operations Agency (AFLOA) 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 Position.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-09, or equivalent in other pay systems.

Examples of specialized experience includes Knowledge of the various titles of law applicable to Department of Defense and Department of the Air Force, policies governing contract law responsibility issues; knowledge of legal reference sources in agency instructions, manuals, directives and issuances, knowledge of legal publications sufficient to perform extensive and thorough legal research into legislative histories, precedent cases, applicable decisions and opinions; knowledge to evaluate the relevance of and summarize, substantive information OR EDUCATION: Successfully completed a Ph.D.

or equivalent graduate degree OR have completed two (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR have a LL.M., if related.

You must submit a copy of your transcripts OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

NOTE: You must submit a copy of your 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-09 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 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: Thorough knowledge of legal terminology as it pertains to government Contract Law procedures, in-depth experience in administrative processes within the contract appeals process, the USAF procurement program, and thorough knowledge of legal practice and procedures before the ASBCA and Court of Claims AND ability to perform legal research using electronic and traditional methods.

Ability to gather facts and use effective, analytical, and evaluative methods to accurately assesses information and makes sound decisions AND skill in written and oral communication.

Knowledge of interpersonal and public communication skills sufficient to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Ability to operate various computer systems, and associated peripheral equipment.

Ability must include the ability to create and utilize databases, and document preparation in support of complex transactions requiring highly technical legal wording and supporting materials.

Skill in reviewing substantive information on legal matters for the use of attorneys AND skill in ascertaining, locating, and accumulating appropriate court cases, statutes, and regulations applicable to specific matters and actions under review by staff members.

Ability to independently organize information, interpret, apply statutes, rules, regulations and procedures, and perform automated legal research.

Use Adobe Acrobat Professional to delete, extract, add/insert, and replace pages in PDF document. Use to add, update, and remove headers and footers in a PDF document.

Use to edit redaction properties, mark pages for redaction and apply redactions in a PDF document.

Use to create PDF documents from emails, Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft PowerPoint documents, and web pages.

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 to trial attorneys representing the Air Force and its personnel in Commercial Litigation and similar cases, including the preparation of legal memoranda in support of litigation in such cases in multiple fora.

Conducts case background investigation to include meetings with witnesses and screening of documents. Screens, routes, and tracks all incoming legal correspondence.

Independently maintains, determines disposal and retrieves legal case files on assigned cases.