Summary
This position is located in the Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Section represents the United States in complex litigation arising under a broad range of environmental statutes, and defends the United States against challenges to its cleanup and compliance actions at Superfund sites, federally-owned facilities and private sites. The incumbent will provide paralegal support to the Section's attorneys.
Duties
This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with Ann# ENRD-24-059-MP for employees with Federal status or eligibility and applicants eligible for special appointment authorities. Please review that announcement to determine if you are eligible to apply. Applicants must apply separately for each announcement.
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.
As a Paralegal Specialist, typical work assignments may include the following:
- Conducting research in various databases including Westlaw, PACER and Lexis; performing cite checks pursuant to The Bluebook; compiling legislative histories; researching and verifying credentials of witnesses; proofreading and editing legal briefs and memoranda prior to filing in court; and ensuring conformance of documents to applicable court rules.
- Organizing and writing synopses of factual materials; summarizing depositions; preparing, organizing, and indexing administrative records; and preparing non-legal memoranda.
- Creating and maintaining litigation databases.
- Providing specialized litigation support services and coordinating trial logistics at off-site facilities, including with U.S. Attorneys' Offices and other government agencies; and traveling to various locations throughout the United States to assist with legal and technical assignments at trial.
- Performing case docketing; maintaining filing deadline calendar and coordinating with attorneys on each court filing; and preparing and assisting with filing all court documents.
- Collecting, analyzing, and recording case data in the Division's Case Management System.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national
- Must complete a Background Investigation to include pre-employment drug testing
- Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable
- Must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by closing date
- If this is your first appointment in the Federal service, your salary will be set at Step 1 of the grade selected.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position at GS-9, you must have one of the following:
A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level or above utilizing automated legal databases to verify legal citations and statutory references; analyzing and organizing factual, legal, and archival records; providing assistance to attorneys in preparation for hearings and/or trials; and creating and maintaining litigation databases for management of case materials; or
B. A master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education, or LL.B or J.D. Such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Paralegal Specialist; or
C. A combination of graduate education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation).
To qualify for GS-11, you must have one of the following:
A. One year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-9 Federal grade level or above preparing summaries of depositions and other documents; performing factual, legal, and archival research; compiling and researching a variety of sources to verify, support, or dispute case information; and resolving problems in line with established policies, precedents, directives, and practices; or
B. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or
C. Three (3) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., if related; or
D. A combination of education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.
Qualifying education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
Applicants are required to submit a writing sample. Please provide a 1-5 page double spaced sample for which you are the primary author. This can include papers, or portions of papers, submitted for classes or writing assignments done for a previous employer.
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 skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
YOUR RESUMÉ MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement if you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements. Please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.
Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
To preview questions, please click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12535762
Education
All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov.
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.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. In order 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.
You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
- Legal Jurisprudence
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Flexibility
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
- Decision Making
- Reading
- Reasoning
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.
Your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.
*Note: Additional candidates may be selected if more positions become available in the Division within 90 days after the HR office issues the selection certificate.
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 here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire
Required Documents
You must submit a detailed resumé containing the following information for each job entry listed in your employment history:
- Official position title;
- Employer name and contact information;
- Start and end dates (month and year);
- A detailed list of duties & accomplishments,
- Your highest salary (or Federal grade/step) achieved; and
- Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time.
Additional required documents must be submitted by the closing date of the job announcement. Documentation requirements may vary from applicant to applicant based on your eligibility claims. It is your responsibility to carefully review the list below to determine which documents are required for your application.
To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:
- Your resumé (cover letter optional)
- A writing sample, up to 5 pages double-spaced
- An unofficial GRADUATE transcript if you are using education to qualify. (If you are selected for a position, you must provide an official, sealed transcript before your hiring date can be established to include the date your degree was conferred.)
- Documentation to support your claim for veteran preference, if applicable
- CTAP/ICTAP documentation, if applicable
If you are using education to qualify for this position, or if education is required:
- You must submit a transcript, which may be unofficial, as long as it contains a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade-point-average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award.
- Your transcript must come from a nationally-accredited educational institution recognized by the Department of Education.
- Please do not submit electronic transcripts with documentation security protection. These may prevent our application system from accepting and processing the document.
- If submitting a foreign transcript, you must have the transcript reviewed by an approved foreign education review organization recognized by the Department of Education. Your transcript must also be in English or have an English translation included.
If you are a Veteran or a qualifying parent or spouse:
- Submit all DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, Member-4 Copy) forms.
- If you are a Veteran with a service-connected disability rating you will need to submit the SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veterans Preference) and a copy of your VA Letter stating your disability rating.
- If you are the qualifying parent or spouse of a disabled, deceased, or deployed Veteran, and are seeking a derived preference eligibility, you must submit appropriate supporting documentation such as the Veterans DD-214, SF-15, VA Letter.
- For more information on each type of Veterans Preference, and the documentation required for each, see FedsHireVets.
If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP:
- You must submit your separation notice or agency RIF letter from your agency.
- If you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you because of reduction-in-force.
- See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
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.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
- To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you and via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements
- Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account ( https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application, including the invitation to take the USA Hire assessment. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.
For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/???????
Next steps
Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your 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.To be considered for the position, you must meet all qualifications.
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