Paralegal Specialist

Clarification from the agency

These positions will be filled through Direct Hire Authority and is open to all U.S. citizens.

ICE OPLA is the largest legal department within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with more than 3,000 attorneys and 500 support staff working nationwide in 143 offices located within nine Regions throughout the United States. Pursuant to statute, OPLA serves as the exclusive representative of DHS in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review litigating cases involving criminal aliens, terrorists, human rights violators, and other priority aliens. OPLA also provides a full range of legal services to all ICE programs and offices.

Legal Operations (Legal Ops) paralegals assist OPLA attorneys who serve as agency counsel before the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review, in federal litigation, and on a robust and diverse client services portfolio. Legal Ops attorneys serve as the exclusive representatives of the U.S. Government in immigration proceedings before the 73 immigration courts and three adjudication centers nationwide, as well as the Board of Immigration Appeals. Legal Ops attorneys and paralegals support the U.S. Attorney's Offices nationwide in handling federal litigation pending in the U.S. District Courts, including petitions for writs of habeas corpus, motions for injunctive relief, and class action lawsuits. At the full performance level, OPLA Legal Ops paralegal responsibilities include:

• Researching laws, regulations, court decisions, opinions, legislative history, and other legal authorities and analyzing and applying such findings to support attorneys, including using automated legal research tools where appropriate.
• Assisting attorneys in preparing for and representing the United States Government in immigration proceedings before immigration judges or other tribunals, frequently involving evidentiary, procedural, and substantive issues in pending cases, and facilitating communication between attorneys and clients, witnesses, or other parties.
• Reviewing case-related documents for conformity with standardized formatting, grammar, legal citations, and practice manuals prior to signature and issuance by attorneys.
• Monitoring and updating databases and repositories using an electronic case management system or similar system.
• Assisting in preparing correspondence, motions, briefs, case summaries, and other written work product in draft and final form; and affidavits, discovery requests, responses, evidentiary packages, and other legal documents for immigration proceedings and federal litigation.
• Compiling, summarizing, and analyzing case information, statistics, or other relevant data for attorneys or to support leadership's decision-making and performance tracking.
• Managing calendars, deadlines, and other logistical aspects of legal work.
• Other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• You must successfully pass a drug screen.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must certify registration with Selective Service.
• Requirements by Closing Date: Unless otherwise noted, you must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
• Probationary Period: This is a full-time permanent position (Career/Career-Conditional appointment). Upon appointment to this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.

Qualifications

Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.
Legal Ops

Minimum Qualifications for GS-09: Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service that included experience such as:

• Drafting and editing memoranda, research reports, and/or correspondences relating to legal cases;
• Reviewing case materials;
• Preparing and organizing trial exhibits;
• Preparing summaries of testimony and depositions

OR
Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify for the GS-09 level. To qualify based on education you must have:

• Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR
• Two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related

OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-11: Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that included experience such as:

• Analyzing cases related to immigration law;
• Assisting attorney's in case preparation by analyzing facts and legal questions;
• Classifying and interpreting data from a variety of sources related to immigration matters;
• Collecting, reviewing, and fact-finding supporting documentation for court proceedings

OR
Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify for the GS-11 level. To qualify based on education you must have:

• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
• Three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related.

OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-12: Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-11 level in the Federal service that included experience such as:

• Researching relevant legislation, regulations, case law, and policy;
• Preparing litigation reports in connection with lawsuits filed against an agency or organization;
• Reviewing, analyzing, and recommending appropriate responses on appeals;
• Evaluating evidence, facts, and circumstances relating to cases and make recommendations within the requirements of the law and regulations

There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level

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.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer 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.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements 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.

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.

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

Direct Hire Authority: These positions will be filled through the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority. The "Rule of Three", Category Rating and Veterans Preference will not apply to this vacancy. For more information on Direct Hire Authority, please see: OPM Direct Hire Fact Sheet.

Veterans: Although the Direct Hire Authority permits hiring without regard to Veterans Preference, applicants who are eligible for Veterans Preference are still encouraged to include that information in their application and submit supporting documentation (i.e. DD-214, or other substantiating documents). Staffing Policy View information on veterans' preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under ICTAP, you must be placed in the well qualified category for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement.

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.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12956717

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes

1. Your Resume showing relevant experience, education and training. Work experience must include: job title, duties, employer's name, employer's telephone number, employer's address, starting and ending dates (MM/YY), hours worked per week, and indicate whether or not we may contact your current supervisor. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. In describing your experience on your resume, please be clear and specific. We will not make assumption regarding your experience. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. (for more information, see the How do I write a resume for a federal Job-Two-Page Resume Limit).

2. Other supporting documents (only submit if applicable to you):

• Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) or a list of coursework with hours completed.
• Are you a veteran entitled to preference? Submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 or other (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) or notice form. Those applying for 10-Point preference must fill out the SF-15 and provide an official document dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, and/or any other associated documentation based on your preference. If applying based on eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. This must indicate your dates of service, your rank, and confirm that you will be separated under honorable conditions.
• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP)? If so, submit:
  • A copy of your RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate, notice of disability annuity termination, or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  • A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action'', documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc.;
  • A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  • Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.
• Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit 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.

Failure to submit required documents will result in disqualification for this vacancy.

Next steps

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