Paralegal Specialist

Full Job Description

The mission of OLP is to develop and implement the Department's significant policy initiatives, handle special projects that implicate the interests of multiple Department components, coordinate with other interested Department components and other Executive Branch agencies, and serve as the primary policy advisor to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General.

This announcement is open to current or former federal employees and specific hiring authorities.

To qualify for the position of Paralegal Specialist, at GS-0950-7/9/11, you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below.

For the GS-07 Specialized experience is defined as: For the GS-07, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Drafting standard legal documents, reports, and/or correspondence; 2) Researching legal principles and concepts to interpret a body of law, regulations and/or legal precedents; and 3) Gathering information associated with statutes, policies, regulations, legislation, judicial decisions, and/or administrative actions.

OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for this position.

Superior Academic Achievement is based on:(1) Class Standing - You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - You must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on my official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - You may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).

OR Combination of Education and Experience: 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%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18.

Add the two percentages.

For the GS-09 Specialized experience is defined as: For the GS-09, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Preparing and/or processing standard legal documents related to federal policy, regulations, and/or the judicial nominations process; 2) Editing standard legal documents, reports, and/or correspondence; 3) Interpreting legal principles and concepts to interpret a body of law, regulations and/or legal precedents; 4) Compiling information associated with statutes, regulations, legislation, judicial decisions, and/or administrative actions; and 5) Preparing replies to correspondence researching specific problems.

OR Education: 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 do the work of the position.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: 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%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12.

Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

For the GS-11 Specialized experience is defined as: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Reviewing and/or processing standard legal documents related to the federal policy, regulations, and/or the judicial nominations process; 2) Editing standard legal documents, reports, and/or correspondence; 3) Applying legal principles and concepts to interpret a body of law, policies, regulations and/or legal precedents; 4) Evaluating information associated with statutes, policies, regulations, legislation, judicial decisions, and/or administrative actions; and 5) Preparing written products after verifying citations and/or legal references in prepared legal documents.

OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M.

in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: 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%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12.

Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade, by the 04/09/2026 of this announcement.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required of you.

You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement 04/09/2026 to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application. Major Duties:

The duties and responsibilities for a GS-0950-7/9/11 generally include, but are not limited to, the following: Research and review public records related to the policy and regulatory process.

Review, prepare, update, and process documents related to the policy and regulatory process.

Assist attorneys in the review and preparation of policy and regulatory documents on a wide range of legal issues relevant to the Department's work.

Interact directly with supervisor, regulatory and policy attorneys, and DAAGs, as well as other Department components and Federal agencies on regulatory, policy, and legislative issues.

Track the status of policy and regulatory documents and communications, deconflict component comments, and perform other tasks integral to the regulatory process.

Prepare for, plan, and support internal working group meetings and external stakeholder engagements.

Draft and edit various documents, including notices, rules, memoranda, reports, tracking documents, and correspondence. Verify citations and legal references in policy and regulatory documents.

Willingness to work on topics outside a specific area of expertise is also expected. Other duties as assigned.