Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

As a Legal Assistant (OA), you will: perform a variety of clerical, technical, and administrative tasks while providing legal support to attorneys and paralegals. Practice areas may include general litigation, tax litigation, criminal tax, and advisory services performing the following duties:

• Utilize basic office software such as Outlook (including eFax), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Desktop Publishing, Access, SharePoint, and Adobe Acrobat to prepare legal documents and correspondence.
• Prepare and assemble documents, including necessary transmittal forms and envelopes, in accepted office format pursuant to court rules for timely mailing, submission to courts and service of others as appropriate.
• File Chief Counsel court pleadings and follows steps to document that they have been filed or logged with the appropriate recipient. Review outgoing correspondence and documents to ensure proper signature and conformance to style and format requirements and procedural instructions, and necessary attachments and enclosures.
• Review mail related to the assigned functional area and input the appropriate tracking data into case management information system.
• Receive visitors and phone calls. Ascertain nature of requests and directs callers to appropriate staff, or personally provides the information desired when routine or procedural matters of the office are involved.

This is not an all-inclusive list. If selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform the duties of the position, and will receive training to help you grow in the position.

Additional Information:

• Relocation expenses are not authorized.
• This is a non-bargaining unit position.
• We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
• We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Conditions of employment

• Refer to "Other Information"
• Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
• Undergo an income tax verification.
• The employment of any candidate, including a current employee or a new hire, selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to 2 years of returns.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See "Required Documents" for a list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• Career Transition Assistance Program
• Current Chief Counsel Employee
• Current IRS Employee

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

To qualify for this position of Legal Assistant (OA) you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement:

Basic Requirement for Legal Assistant (OA):

Typing Requirement: This position requires a typing proficiency of at least 40 word per minute (WPM) based on a 5 minute sample with 3 or fewer errors. Applicants may meet this requirement by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years.

For GS-05:
Specialized Experience: Your resume must detail at least one year of specialized experience which includes: 1) performing administrative and clerical processes to include preparing and/or reviewing documents with legal implications (e.g., court documents, real estate documents, contracts, insurance or benefits claims, mortgage or loan applications, tax forms, or other types of legal documents); 2) maintaining file systems; and obtaining needed information from files or general reference sources. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-04).

OR

Education: Four years of education above the high school level obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination are identified in the online questions.

For GS-06:
Specialized Experience: Your resume must detail at least one year of specialized experience which includes: 1) preparing, receiving, reviewing, and/or verifying legal documents; 2) maintaining legal office records and systems; and 3) locating and compiling data or information from legal files and other data sources. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05)

OR

Education: A half year (i.e., 9 semester hours) of graduate level education directly related to the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination are identified in the online questions.

GS-07:
Specialized Experience: Your resume must detail at least one year of specialized experience which includes: 1) analyzing & reviewing information and preparing a variety of legal documents; 2) reviewing documents for regulatory requirements and inputting into case tracking systems; 3) using automated software to produce legal related reports, documents, correspondence or related materials; and 4) assisting with trial preparation needs. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06).

OR

Education: One full year of graduate level education directly related to the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. Options for qualifying based on a combination are identified in the online questions.

NOTE: If qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application package.

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

Time in Grade Requirement for GS-06: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-05).

Time in Grade Requirement for GS-07: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-06).

How you will be evaluated

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

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
• Clerical
• Computer Skills
• Customer Service
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Flexibility
• Information Management
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Oral and Written Communication
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Technical Documentation

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 an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12930601

Referral:If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site. If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)), you must receive a score of 80 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) Please limit your resume to two-pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view Resume Tips.

Current and Former Federal Employees - Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment- Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".)- Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.- Submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application.

Current Chief Counsel Employees on an Excepted Service Veteran's Recruitment Appointment (VRA) or Schedule A (Employee with Disability) Appointment - If you are eligible in this category, you are required to submit an SF-50 showing current Chief Counsel Excepted Service VRA or Schedule A (Employee with Disability) Appointment (block 24 must be a "1" or "2" AND block 34 must be a"2.").

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Documentation
If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.

EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. See "Education" for more details.

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

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