Legal Assistant (OA)

If selected, you will serve as a senior legal assistant responsible for directly and independently supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) by providing a wide variety of technical assistance services related to complex defensive litigation matters. Typical work assignments will include:

• Providing substantive assistance to AUSAs in legal matters related to defensive litigation matters such as suits under the Federal Tort Claims Act, allegations of discrimination in Federal employment, challenges to agency actions and government procurement under the Administrative Procedure Act, appeals under the Social Security Act, suits seeking the release of records under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, and the defense of government officials sued in their official capacities;
• Acting as a legal assistance subject matter expert and providing training, guidance and technical assistance to other legal support staff;
• Researching, evaluating, and coordinating information to establish the facts and issues of specific litigation cases using various legal and non-legal databases and websites;
• Maintaining evidence such as paper documents, PDF files, image files, audio files, video files, bank records, forensic reports, and other file types; and
• Preparing legal actions such motions, proposed orders, declarations, and notices.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• If you are a male applicant born 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. See http://www.sss.gov/.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

To be qualified at the GS-8 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience performing the following types of duties: preparing and processing a variety of technical legal correspondence and documents which are characteristically voluminous and complex in format (e.g. pleadings, stipulations, motions, briefs, affidavits, complaints, orders, answers, subpoenas, and other legal documents); obtaining information from files, law enforcement agencies, or other sources; conducting factual and legal research in legal and non-legal databases and providing requested information to attorneys; aiding in the preparation and organization of evidence for production as discovery and for use in trial; managing paper and electronic discovery and evidence; independently compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and coding and indexing discovery documents using legal case management software.

To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5-minute sample with three or fewer errors. (A typing test may later be required).

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/