Paralegal Specialist

This announcement is for current permanent Department of Justice employees with competitive status and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates.

Duties

The duties and responsibilities for a GS-0950-Paralegal Specialist-9/11 generally include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Responsible for assisting the Attorney General in the role of legal advisor to the President and Executive Branch agencies.
• Responsible for assisting in the management of all legal documents that flow through the office.
• Provide legal advice for responses for requests from the Counsel to the President, general counsels of Executive Branch departments and agencies, the National Security Council Legal Advisor, the Attorney General and other Department of Justice officials.
• Analyze and evaluate the relevance of particular technical evidence or questions which arise in the conduct of legal programs issues.

Salary

• $70,623 - $111,087/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• You must successfully pass a security/background investigation and a drug screening.
• You must be a current permanent Department of Justice employee with competitive status or a CTAP/RPL eligible candidate.
• You must meet all applicable time-in-grade requirements by the closing of this announcement.
• Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.

Qualifications

To qualify for the position of Paralegal Specialist, at GS-0950-9/11, you must meet the qualification requirements listed below.

There may also be a positive education requirement for some occupations, please see the Education section for details. If there are licensing or certification requirements, please see the Required Documents section for details on how to verify you license or certificate.

For the GS-09: Specialized Experience: For the GS-9, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service which demonstrates providing support arranging, analyzing, or checking citation of legal documents and/or information needed for legal case processing.

GS-9 substitution of education for experience

Education: Master's Degree or two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D. in a field that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. (You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

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 second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

For the GS-11: Specialized Experience: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service which demonstrates providing legal advice to the operation involving analyzing and researching legal documents for a variety of problems.

GS-11 substitution of education for experience:

Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

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 second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including time-in-grade, by 04/20/2026 of this announcement.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements, please see the statements below. Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, in order for it to be creditable towards your qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from accredited institution. FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. If you are qualifying on foreign education, you MUST submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. Other Information Additional selections may be made from this announcement. Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. DOJ Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. The DOJ Reasonable Accommodation policy can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/reasonable-accommodation#policy Selective Service: If you were born male, on or after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov. Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to Rhonda Douglas at Rhonda.D.Douglas@usdoj.gov. Note: In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201(b) certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance Act. This position is excluded from the bargaining unit. Required Documents

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

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

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.

SF-50: You must submit your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action). Do not submit an award SF-50, these do not contain sufficient information about your appointment. Your SF-50 should list the full position title, series, grade and step, organization, duty location, service computation date, effective date, and your service type and tenure status.

1. Most recent performance appraisal: Must submit a signed copy of your most recent performance evaluation or appraisal showing your final rating. If a performance appraisal is not available submit a statement explaining why one is not available.
2. Awards: Submit a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available.

CTAP eligibility documentation:

1. A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for declining a directed geographic relocation outside of the local commuting area; a Certificate of Expected Separation ; or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, or a notice of eligibility for discontinued service retirement).
2. A copy of your most recent performance appraisal and SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" noting current position, grade/band level, promotion potential, and duty location.

College Transcripts: If you are using education to qualify for this position, or 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. Note: If you are selected for this position, official transcripts will be required prior to your first day.

1. Your transcript must come from a nationally accredited educational institution recognized by the Department of Education.
2. If submitting a foreign transcript, you must have the transcript reviewed by an approved foreign education review organization recognized by the Department of Education.
3. Please do not submit electronic transcripts with documentation security protection, these may prevent our application system from accepting and processing the document.

How to Apply To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit your supporting documentation. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 04/20/2026 to receive consideration. Click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. NEED HELP? If you need help with USAJOBs or the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help or Application Manager Online Help websites which includes information on managing your account, creating an application, uploading documents, etc. Reasonable Accommodation: To request reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Rhonda Douglas at Rhonda.D.Douglas@usdoj.gov for assistance.?