STUDENT TRAINEE (LAW CLERK)

Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below for IMPORTANT additional information. The primary purpose of this position is to provide a student trainee who has been appointed to the Pathways Program with on-the-job training and guidance to further student technical development in law.

Duties

1. With supervision, performs tasks that are developmental and recurring in nature that require application of basic occupational field theory and principles in the technical area of legal services. 2. With supervision, conducts investigations to obtain evidentiary data and recommend an agency course of action. 3. With guidance, drafts, negotiates, or examines contracts or other legal documents required by the agency's activities. 4. Works closely with senior attorneys, assists in the performance of legal research, analysis of legal decisions, opinions, ruling, memoranda, and other legal decisions, prepares/writes digests of points of law involved. Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Competitive Service Student Trainee Positions QUALIFICATION: All applicants must have completed at least 1 full academic year of graduate level education (e.g., law school) or Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) Provision and completion of a bachelor's degree. You must submit your transcripts. Required Documents: Resume Unofficial Transcripts (undergraduate & law school) Proof of school enrollment/class registration (i.e. law school transcript or enrollment letter) Motivational Statement (limited to 1 page) Online Application (Questionnaire) completed in USAJobs.gov Geographic Preferences Memorandum 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 and understanding of diverse legal issues. Ability to communicate legal issues and principles effectively orally and in writing. Skill in conduction thorough legal research on a variety of issues. Skill in properly analyzing facts and legal questions. Skill in conducting a proper legal investigation to obtain facts. 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.

Education

This position has an education requirement. You MUST provide transcripts or Official Letter of Enrollment to support your educational claims.. An accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education must accredit education. Click here to check accreditation. FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here to check. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. Your responses to the questionnaire may be compared to the documents you submit. The documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further. BASIS OF RATING: Your application will be rated under the Category Rating procedures based on the extent to which the quality, depth, and complexity of your experience and education relate to the qualifications requirement. Additional points are not added for Veteran's Preference; however, Veteran Preference is still applied. Category 3, Best Qualified: Candidates in this category possess exceptional skills and experience to exceed well above the minimum requirements. Category 2, Highly Qualified: Candidates in this category possess good skills and experience above the minimum requirements. Category 1, Qualified: Candidates in this category meet the minimum education and/or experience requirements. Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. The numeric rating you received is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills and abilities required of this position. If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Other Information

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible click here. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated in the "Highly Qualified" or "Best Qualified" Category on the rating criteria for this vacancy. You must submit a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location. Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click here for more information. Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: MSP applicants, if determined best qualified, must be selected, and placed at the highest grade for which they applied. You must include a completed copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for MSP. Click here to obtain/download a copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist. Temporary and Term Appointments: If you are selected for a temporary or term position in the competitive service, your appointment may be extended to the maximum period allowed by law without further competition. Additionally, if you are serving on a term appointment in the competitive service, you may be converted to a career or career-conditional appointment without further competition. NOTE: Current Federal Civilian employees may apply for temporary and term positions and if selected, a break in service may be required prior to appointment to the position. Disabled veteran leave is available to a Federal employee hired on/after 5 Nov 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. For more information, click here. If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here. For information on veteran's preference click here. 120-DAY COMPETITIVE CERTIFICATE: This vacancy announcement may be used to fill like vacancies for 120-days from the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as/if additional vacancies occur during this period.