Lead Paralegal Specialist Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. OSG-25-12694526-IMP Department Offices, Boards and Divisions
Salary $101,401.00 to $131,826.00 Grade 12 to 12
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 2/27/2025 Close Date 3/10/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The incumbent will serve as the Lead Paralegal Specialist providing support to the Solicitor General, Deputy Solicitors General, and Assistants to the Solicitor General. In the office the cases in which Supreme Court review will be sought by the government and the positions the government will take before the Court. The staff attorneys will prepare the petitions, briefs, and other papers filed by the government in its Supreme Court litigation.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted only from current permanent Department of Justice employees in JMD/OBD with competitive status and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates.

Duties

As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

The duties and responsibilities for a Lead Paralegal Specialist generally include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Perform legal editing, strategic problem solving, discretion, independent professional judgment in performing and delivering high-quality legal services.
  • Prepare comprehensive Litigation Reports containing detailed factual and legal analysis to recommend the US Attorney pursue or defend a case, Complaints, Motions, Briefs, or other legal pleadings.
  • Assist attorneys in connection with investigations of actual or potential claims.
  • Investigate and become thoroughly familiar with subject matter details involved in a case or legal matter.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen or National.
  • You must successfully pass a security/background investigation and a drug screening.
  • You must be a current permanent Department of Justice employee with competitive status or a CTAP/RPL eligible candidate.
  • You must meet all applicable time-in-grade requirements by the closing of this announcement.
  • Additional selections may be made from this announcement, at any time, if openings occur in other offices serviced by Justice Management Division, HR Operations.
  • Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.

Qualifications

To qualify for the position of Lead Paralegal Specialist, (GS-0950-12), you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below AND possess the required specialized experience specific to this series and grade.

If you are a current Department of Justice employee on a permanent appointment in the competitive service, you will need to demonstrate 1-year (52-weeks) at the next lower grade level, to meet the time-in-grade requirements for this occupational series and grade.

For the GS-12: Specialized Experience: For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as providing leadership in researching, analyzing and evaluating case issues or citation for accuracy in briefs filed in the Supreme Court.

You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including Time-in-Grade, by the closing date of this announcement, 03/10/2025.
YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

This vacancy is open to current DOJ employees and CTAP eligibles. See below for more information:

  1. CURRENT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE EMPLOYEES: Employees who currently work for the Department of Justice, or any of it's components (i.e. FBI, DEA, ATF, USTP, JMD, etc.) on a permanent appointment in the competitive service. Contractor employees and those on Excepted Service appointments are not eligible.
  2. CTAP ELIGIBLES: For more information visit: USAJOBS Career Transition Programs
  3. REASONABLE ACCOMODATION STATEMENT: Our policy can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/reasonable-accommodation#policy
  4. DOJ EEO STATEMENT: The U.S. Department of Justice fosters an inclusive and diverse workforce, find our EEO statement online at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1394116/download
  5. SELECTIVE SERVICE: If you were born male, on or 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. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov.
This position is excluded from the bargaining unit.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement closes, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted by the HR Specialist. This information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your background information, you may be deemed ineligible, or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities.

Additionally, we will review your supporting documents and resume to determine if you are in the "Area of Consideration" for this vacancy. Government-Wide Merit Promotion vacancies may only accept applications from a limited audience, pay careful attention to the "Who May Apply" and the "Hiring Paths" information. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

When addressing the specialized experience statement, applicants must present evidence of the experience in their resume. If the specialized experience statement is repeated, in the applicant's resume, Human Resources will deem the applicant as ineligible.

BASIS OF RATING: DOJ's Merit Promotion Procedures will be used to evaluate candidates.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):

  • Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
  • Technical Competence
  • Technical Documentation


Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): This program applies to DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
  1. Meet CTAP eligibility criteria;
  2. Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
  3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility.

Required Documents

Documentation requirements may vary from applicant to applicant based on your eligibility claims.

It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of document descriptions below, to see which documents are required for your application.

If you are a current DOJ employee:

  1. You must submit your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent agency form. Do not submit an award SF-50, these do not contain sufficient information about your appointment
  2. Your SF-50 should list the full position title, series, grade and step, organization, duty location, service computation date, effective date, and your service type and tenure status.
  3. Submit a copy of your most recent performance evaluation or appraisal, signed, showing your final rating. If a performance appraisal is not available submit a statement explaining why one is not available.
If you are a displaced former DOJ employee claiming eligibility under CTAP:
  1. You must submit your separation notice or RIF letter.
  2. If you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you from the agency because of reduction-in-force.
  3. See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
USAJOBS - What documents might I need to provide?
Application Manager Help - Documents

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 03/10/2025 to receive consideration.

If you would like to preview the assessment questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12694526

  1. Click "Apply Online" to get started.
  2. If you're not logged in to your USAJOBS account, you will need to login. If you don't have an account, please create one.
  3. You will be prompted to select one of your stored (or uploaded) resumes, and any supporting documents you have uploaded to USAJOBS. If you have not uploaded these documents, you can do so later before submitting your application.
  4. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, you will be asked to submit your demographic information (if you have provided this in your profile). Submission is optional and anonymous.
  5. You'll be asked to confirm your choices and certify the accuracy of your information before you're able to continue to the Application Manager system. Until you see the blue border and DOJ logo, you are still on USAJOBS. You'll see a folder animation just before you leave USAJOBS.
  6. Once you reach DOJ's Application Manager system, you'll be asked to verify the information you transmitted from USAJOBS. You will then respond to the application assessment questionnaires and indicate your eligibility options.
  7. After responding to the questionnaires, you will have the opportunity to attach the documents you brought over from USAJOBS *OR* upload documents directly from your computer or device.
  8. If you opt to upload a document directly, click the "Upload" button and select the document on your device, then wait for the upload to finish. Repeat as needed. Documents must be less than 3 MB each and should be in a compatible file format.
  9. Once all your documents are uploaded, you must assign the uploads to the appropriate document category. You may attach more than one document to each category. Click the drop-down menu for a document category, and select one of the available options in the menu. The document will be listed under this category. You can click the drop-down again to add other documents, as needed. You can have up to 15 document assignments.
  10. Once you've uploaded and assigned all your documents to an appropriate document type, you can proceed to the final verification step, and click Submit.
  11. If you have correctly submitted your application, you will receive an automated e-mail notification within 30-60 minutes. Be sure to review the announcement fully to make sure that your application contains everything that is required.
If you need help with the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help Site (for everything on the USAJOBS-side), or the Application Manager Help Site (for everything on the DOJ-side).

Regrettably, the Department of Justice cannot assist you with USAJOBS account issues. If you contact us for assistance and the problem is related to your USAJOBS account, we will have to direct you to USAJOBS to remedy the issue.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS:
If you are unable to apply online due to a disability or overseas deployment, you must request an alternative application, which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Rhonda Douglas at Rhonda.D.Douglas@usdoj.gov or 202-286-0085 to discuss your situation. Accommodations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Agency contact information

Rhonda Douglas
Address
Office of the Solicitor General
2 Constitution Square
145 N Street NE
Room 9W.300
Washington, DC 20530
US

Next steps

You will receive e-mail notifications as your application status is updated by DOJ. However, you can also see your application status any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account and looking on the "Applications" page. Click the position title to expand the display for each application in the list. Click here to learn more about checking your application status, or see what each application status means.

We strive to extend a final offer of employment within 90 days from the close of this announcement. Delays do sometimes occur for reasons beyond our control. Additional selections may be made from this announcement if openings in other offices occur within 90 days, candidates who are referred to the hiring office, may be referred to other hiring offices in this scenario.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement, for up to 90 days, if openings occur in other offices serviced by Justice Management Division.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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