STUDENT TRAINEE (LAW) (LEGAL INTERN)

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to: Students, as described in the "Qualification" and "Education Requirement" section of this announcement.

This is a temporary position NTE 1 year from appointment.

As a STUDENT TRAINEE (LAW) (LEGAL INTERN) you will be responsible for the following duties:

We are looking for capable and eager law students interested in being part of a Federal legal office that provides support in all areas of legal practice for an agency with a national security mission. Interns will apply analytic and critical thinking skills to work on research projects, draft memos, and assist attorneys with various assignments and projects. A final or interim secret security clearance is required for appointment to the position, but applicants are not required to have a security clearance to apply for the position.

• Plan, organize and conduct studies of legal issues and cases generally encountered in the assigned area.
• Conduct research assignments given by agency counsel.
• Examine and evaluate procedural and legal sufficiency of agency actions, policies and practices.
• Provide support in analyzing issues and actions related to national security law, civilian personnel law, equal employment opportunity matters, government information practices, administrative law, fiscal law, ethics, and acquisition law.
• Use manual and automated legal research methods and other available resources to locate and apply relevant legal references, including Federal statutes, regulations and publications, DoW issuances, case law, articles and legal treatises.
• Assist with the research and preparation of legal opinions for attorneys on the full range of legal matters presented by agency operations and administration.
• Participate in defensive administrative litigation including depositions, mediation, negotiations, and hearings.
• Draft and edit legal and non-legal memoranda, research reports, and correspondence. Ensure proper processing of completed actions.
• Analyze facts and legal questions and organize and prepare research material for attorney review.
• Identify pertinent facts and issues for research and discussion, suggest legal interpretations of reference material, and prepare initial summary recommendations for attorneys.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a US citizen
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. For more information http://www.sss.gov
• Resume and supporting documents received by 11:59PM EST will be considered
• This is a Drug Testing designated position
• Position is a (DCIPS) position in the Excepted Service under U.S.C. 1601
• Work Schedule: Full Time
• Overtime: Occasionally
• Tour of Duty: Flexible
• PCS (Permanent Change of Station): Not Authorized
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Non-Exempt
• Financial Disclosure: Not Required
• Telework Eligibility: Supervisors may approve situational telework on a case-by-case, temporary basis for limited situations.
• If selected, the incumbent must obtain and maintain appropriate security clearance as indicated in job announcement.
• Must hold a bachelor's degree and be currently enrolled as a full-time law student in a program leading to award of the first professional law degree.
• To be appointed to a Law Student Trainee in the summer of 2027, you will also need to have successfully completed the 1st or 2nd year of law school by the end of May 2027, with the expectation of continuing law school studies in the fall of 2027.
• Must have and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale. Grade-point averages are rounded to one decimal place.
• DSE Summer ’27 Cohort Start Date: 31 May 2027 (alternate – 14 June 2027); End Date: 20 August 2027. Students must attend for a minimum of 10 weeks (400 hours).
• Students accepted to the internship program must send law school official transcript with spring 2027 semester/quarter grades to the Student Programs prior to their start date.
• Students who successfully complete the program may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a permanent position after graduation if all requirements have been met. Funding availability, mission requirements, and other factors may apply.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the criteria specified below:

• Must hold a bachelor's degree and be currently enrolled as a full-time law student in a program leading to award of the first professional law degree.
• You must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale. Grade-point averages are rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

Note:To be appointed to a Law Student Trainee - Intern (Law Student) in the summer of 2027, you will also need to have successfully completed the 1^st or 2^nd year of law school by the end of May 2027, with the expectation of continuing law school studies in the fall of 2027.

All applicants must submit college or university undergraduate transcripts (official or unofficial) AND law school transcripts (official or unofficial) that demonstrate the completion, (or for 1^st year law student applicants, the anticipated completion), of the 1^st year of law school by the end of May 2027 or earlier.

Specifically, you will be evaluated on the following competencies:
1. Communication: Written and oral communication techniques sufficient to develop and deliver briefings, project papers, status/staff reports and correspondence to managers to foster understanding and acceptance of findings and recommendations.
2. Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations.
3. Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.
4. Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgements.
5. Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
6. Ability to research, analyze and present information.

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), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the SME Resume Panel review.

Application Questionnaire: Applicants must complete a screen out questionnaire as part of the application process. Applicants identified as meeting the basic education requirement and minimum qualifications for the position may move on to the HR/SME Resume Panel review.

HR/SME PANEL REVIEW: An SME Panel will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the competencies stated below. Only the first 2 pages of your resume will be reviewed. Applicants that are found qualified will move on to the next phase of the hiring process.

Competencies: Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Teamwork, Problem Solving, Attention to Detail, and Ability to research, analyze and present information.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Top ranked candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further review and consideration.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified'.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc.). Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

The following documents are REQUIRED:

1. Your resume:

• IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text. We recommend using a font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
• If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent."
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you will not be considered for this vacancy.
• Narrative responses in the assessment questionnaire do not replace content in your resume or vise a versa. Experience must be described in both places for qualification determinations.
• Resumes should NOT include: Classified information/SSN/Photo of yourself/personal information (gender, religion, affiliation etc., Encrypted digitally signed docs). Resumes with this prohibited information will be automatically ineligible for consideration.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the dates of employment (i.e., Month/Year to present. Hours per Week).
• If your resume does not clearly outline details for each position as noted, you may be deemed "not referred" for this position.
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

2. Transcripts:

• This position has a degree or education requirement so you are required to submit a copy of your transcript. We accept unofficial transcripts, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree that was awarded (if applicable), and the list of classes and credits earned. Unofficial transcripts may be obtained by your registrar's office and uploaded as a PDF document.

3. SF50

• All current and former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. Failure to provide latest SF50 may result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

4. Veteran's Documents:

• If applying using veteran's preference or under a Veteran's hiring authority you must submit the following documents: DD214 showing character of service, SF-15 Form and VA letter showing final percentage, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty.

PLEASE REVIEW THE BELOW LINK FOR OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS needed for proof of eligibility:
https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/DODCustomersRequiredSupportingDocumentation.pdf

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