Legal Administrative Specialist - Litigation Support

Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens.

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team in our Civil Division that is responsible for providing technical and analytical assistance which supports the information management and litigation support needs of the United States Attorney's Office. Typical work assignments will include:

• Performing specialized legal research in support of Affirmative Civil Enforcement and/or Defense work;
• Utilizing a variety of eDiscovery and Automated Legal Support software used in the collection, analysis, review and production of electronically stored information;
• Reviewing and evaluating referrals to determine the need for additional information and evidence, and planning a comprehensive approach to obtain this information and evidence;
• Coordinating with client agencies to ensure they collect, review, preserve and provide to the investigative team electronically stored information, which may be used in an investigation or disclosed in discovery;
• Assisting attorneys in pretrial preparations by preparing, scheduling, reviewing, and organizing discovery; notifying, interviewing, and managing witnesses; and researching case law;
• Assisting and/or training attorneys and legal support staff in organizing voluminous case information;
• Assuring documents are organized for efficient automated storage and retrieval by ensuring that electronically stored information obtained from agencies, defendants and third parties in discovery is properly prepared and loaded into discovery databases using specialized procedures and eDiscovery software.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.
• You may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable
• A USA Hire assessment is required. An email will be sent with additional information after you submit your application. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement to complete the assessment.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

GS-7: To be qualified at the GS-7 grade level you must meet at least one of the following conditions below.

Specialized Experience: at least one full year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: assisting in reviewing electronically stored information (ESI) obtained in discovery for data integrity, completeness, and corruption, identifying and implementing corrective action; Utilizing a variety of eDiscovery and Automated Legal Support software used in the collection, review, and production of electronically stored information (e.g., IPRO Eclipse SE, RELATIVITY, LexisNexis, CASEMAP, TIMEMAP, NOTEMAP and similar software); Drafting correspondence and legal documents; and performing legal research including research and analysis of statutes, legislative intent, judicial precedents, agency rules and regulations, and law review articles as they relate to assigned cases.

-OR-

Education: one full year of graduate level education in a related field (Criminal Justice or Law; or a bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g. Criminal Justice or Law); or expect to complete within 9 months AND meet one of the following

Superior Academic Achievement provisions: (1) class standing in the upper one-third of the graduating class; (2) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher as recorded on the official transcript, or computed based on courses completed during the final two full years of the curriculum; (3) a GPA of 3.5 or higher based on the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in a major field completed during the final two years of curriculum; or (4) election to a membership in a national scholastic honor society. (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts and/or verification of class standing for further verification.)

-OR-

Combining Education and Experience: a combination of specialized experience as described in A and education as described in B which when combined equal 100% of the requirements.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the application 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

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

If it is determined that you meet minimum qualification requirements and the technical or alternative assessment, your application will then be placed in one of three categories based on the assessment results: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories veterans' preference eligibles will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Your USAHIRE assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

If you would like to preview the application questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12996353.

It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of required documents below and submit the necessary documentation based on your eligibility.

Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
Resume - All Applicants: You must submit a resume (a two page or less resume is required) containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history:

• Official position title,
• Employer name and contact information,
• Start and end dates (including month and year),
• Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and
• A list of duties performed and accomplishments.

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

-Required if you meet qualifications based on education: An unofficial college transcript (Note: If you are selected for this position, official transcript will be required prior to your first day.) and foreign education evaluation documentation, if applicable, as described under the "Qualifications" section of this vacancy announcement.

-Required, if applicable: Veterans' Preference documentation.

-Required for Veterans' Preference- If you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming in your application and submit the appropriate documentation, as specified below.

• In order to verify your Veterans' Preference entitlement, please submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); or if you are a current Active Duty member you must submit a certification on appropriate military branch letterhead that indicates: 1) your service dates, 2) expected discharge or release date from active duty with a release/discharge date no later than 120 days from the closing date of this announcement, and 3) the character of service (e.g., Honorable); In addition, if you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, or widow/widower if a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference" dated October 2013 and all the other required documentation identified on the reverse side of the SF-15 to support your preference claim.

-Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.

-If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you must submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found at: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

-Current or Former Political Appointees: 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, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Next steps