Lead Paralegal Specialist

Summary

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia mission is to enforce the criminal laws of the United States and the District of Columbia, represent the interests of the United States in civil litigation, and respond to the public safety needs of the community by leading an effective, well-coordinated law enforcement effort that contributes to the overall goal of improving the quality of life in the District of Columbia.

Duties

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team responsible for providing support in the analysis of criminal intake matters, case preparation, trial support and case disposition in the Grand Jury Unit in the General Crimes Section in Superior Court Division (SCD) in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Typical work assignments will include: Plans and organizes the functions, work, and projects assigned to paralegal and legal support staff, by communicating the organizations' goals, objectives, procedures and methodology when assigning work and projects to the unit staff. Prepares, organizes, and maintains a variety of substantive legal documents to include motions, Findings of Fact, warrants, indictments and unindicted referrals. Maintains inventory of materials produced pursuant to subpoena or search warrant and prepares an outline or other summary of substantive documents/materials produced pursuant to grand jury subpoena or search warrant. Reviews assignments for completeness and accuracy and performing any appropriate redactions, based on a thorough understanding of requirements of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the local rules, any protective orders, and any relevant court ruling. Secures evidentiary material and documents throughout the Grand Jury process. Initiates and completes a variety of legal tasks in support of the grand jury and court processes. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. 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. Qualifications

Note: In order to be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure that your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience that you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly stated in your resume, you will not be considered for this position. To be found qualified at the GS-12 level, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Specialized Experience: Experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized Experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the competencies in applying knowledge of laws, court and/or administrative decisions and interpretation of rules, regulations, policies, and procedural requirements needed to perform paralegal job duties. Examples of such experience are: researching or analyzing case files and legal material in preparing substantiative legal documents (such as presentations, motions, or plea agreements); communicating with co-workers, attorneys, witnesses, law enforcement, court personnel, victims or other agencies during the criminal process; providing advice on work methods, practices, or procedures to provide on-the-job training; evaluating work to improve process, effectiveness, workflow or performance in reaching the sections goals, objectives, and procedures as determined by management; preparing, monitoring or reviewing documents for accuracy and timeliness in organizing case files. (4 out of 5) Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-11 is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-12 level. You must submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No award SF-50 will be accepted; recommended SF-50s include promotions and step increases (within grade increases). All applicants will be reviewed to ensure they meet minimum qualification and eligibility requirements before carrying out the rating and ranking process. Applicants will not be further considered who will not meet within 30 days after the closing date of the vacancy announcement all qualification and eligibility requirements.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement. 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, Learning, 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

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.