Legal Assistant (OA)

Summary

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia's 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

This Legal Assistant (OA) provides legal assistant/docket work within the Appellate Division. If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing Legal Assistant (OA) support in the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia, located in Washington, District of Columbia, focusing in the areas of independently collecting, selecting, organizing, and providing docket-related information in oral or written form. Typical work assignments will include: Assembling record material for court filings; Organizing, processing, and copying documents in accordance with requirements; Examining, preparing, and processing a variety of technical legal documents; Maintaining automated case-tracking data base and enters/retrieves data or pertinent information; Managing paper and electronic documents, correspondence, briefs, and other documentary materials; Performing docketing duties such as opening, updating and closing cases through use of the automated case tracking system. As necessary, searches databases for required information; Performing administrative functions such as copying, binding and preparing record materials for court filings. Routinely goes to local courts (Superior and District) for document research and retrieval; Receiving visitors and callers, establishing a variety of files, maintaining calendars; Performing other legal administrative duties as assigned. Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required basic requirement and specialized experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying: Typing Proficiency: 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.) To qualify at the GS-07 level, you must possess: Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in the Federal service performing (obtained in either the public or private sectors) (3) of the (4) duties listed below: Reviewing legal documents such as complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels for completeness of factual information. Retrieving and assembling information for hearing and/or trial use. Researching a variety of legal sources to obtain and/or verify information. Using automated software to produce legal related reports, documents, correspondence and related materials. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. 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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13062845 Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures and placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position; Highly Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors. Names of all candidates in the best qualified category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration (unless a sufficient number of qualified veterans are found - in which only those names will be initially certified). Candidates within the best qualified category who are eligible for veteran preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. Other Information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Justice requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a clearance as a condition of placement in this High Risk position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (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 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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility, click here. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced 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 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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. Additional information about CTAP eligibility, click here. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.