Legal Assistant (Office Automation)

Summary

For additional details on cost of living allowances (COLA), please refer to the OPM website Nonforeign Areas (opm.gov). 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 All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 27-HI-13081157-DE.

Duties

At the full performance level, you will serve as a senior legal assistant responsible for directly and independently supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) by providing a wide variety of technical assistance services related to complex financial litigation actions and matters. If selected, you will receive formal and/or on-the-job training as needed. Duties include: Providing substantive assistance to AUSAs in complex financial litigation matters where the work is complicated by the requirement to independently develop, analyze and evaluate information regarding complex and/or unusual financial assets to assist AUSAs in cases. Reviewing incoming material and determining the need for correspondence and legal documents such as motions, orders, pleadings, and subpoenas. Preparing legal actions such as indictments, criminal complaints, search warrants, judgments, applications, notices, affidavits, summonses, grand jury subpoenas, rules to show cause, proofs of claim and satisfaction of judgment. Conducting research of issues using various legal and non-legal databases and websites. Obtaining and analyzing financial information on debtors to determine their present and future potential ability to pay. Managing discovery and evidence in paper copies and electronically and may present the exhibits using trial presentation software in court. Managing paper and electronic documents and evidence, correspondence, briefs, witness interviews, and other documentary materials. Keeping track of case status and ensuring records are retained in a manner that will facilitate effective retrieval. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. 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, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied. Qualifications

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; 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 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: Successfully completed post-high school education may be used to meet the total one year of specialized experience requirement equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. 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.Specialized experience is defined as providing routine debt identification and collection support. Examples of specialized experience may include the following: using automated systems to conduct routine research, initiate documents for debt collection actions, track debtor accounts, communicating with debtors to present options for debt payments, and producing a variety of written documents and materials utilizing a wide range of office software applications ensuring proper format, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. 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.Specialized experience is defined as experience performing a variety of technical support work requiring knowledge of the laws, regulations, and requirements of financial litigation. Examples of specialized experience may include the following: obtaining and analyzing financial information on debtors, initiating contact with debtors, conducting skip-tracing activity, communicating with debtors to present options for debt payments, and producing a variety of documents and materials needed for litigation utilizing a wide range of office software applications ensuring proper format, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. GS-8: To be eligible at the GS-8 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level.Specialized Experience is defined as performing technical work requiring knowledge of the litigation process and court proceeding associated with debt collection activities. Examples of specialized experience may include: working in a collection environment obtaining and analyzing financial information to determine ability to pay; initiating contact with debtors concerning payment of their obligations, their ability to pay, and negotiating written payment schedules to assure successful debt collection; utilizing enforcement tools such as garnishments, liens, or writs of executions; reviewing debtor financial asset information to prepare payment plans; reconciling payment transactions with records to resolve inconsistencies; performing skip-tracing; locating assets; preparing a variety of legal documents; and maintaining files. 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/. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement. Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Types-of-Appointments

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov OR Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your complete application package (resume/supporting documentation, online questionnaire, and USA Hire Competency Based Assessment) will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration. You will be rated on the following Competencies (see The OPM Website for definitions): Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Decision Making, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, and Teamwork To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Other Information

Recruitment incentives may be authorized if this position is determined to be difficult to fill, if supported by the skills of the selected candidate, and subject to the availability of funds. A relocation incentive may be considered as appropriate based on qualifications. Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.