Paralegal Specialist

This position is located in the Indian Resources Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Indian Resources Section's suits include seeking to establish tribal water rights, protecting treaty hunting and fishing rights, remedying trespasses on tribal lands, and establishing reservation boundaries and rights to land. The incumbent will provide paralegal support to the Section's attorneys.

Duties

This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with Ann# ENRD-25-010-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. Note: Applicants must apply separately for each announcement.

Routine and ad hoc telework options are available in accordance with agency policy. This is not a remote position.

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, your typical work assignments may include the following:

• Performing research in various databases including Westlaw, PACER, and Lexis; performing cite checks pursuant to The Bluebook, compiling legislative histories; drafting, proofreading, and editing legal briefs and memoranda prior to filing in court; and ensuring conformance of documents to applicable court rules.
• Assisting in litigation involving objections to water rights claims and litigation of affirmative water rights claims on behalf of Indian tribes and allottees. Drafting stipulations and abstracts associated with water right claims.
• Researching and identifying expert witnesses and litigative consultants by evaluating and assessing the knowledge, skill, and experience of the potential expert to assist in case development and litigation. Drafting statements of work and managing contracts for experts.
• Assessing expert reports and preparing submissions for administrative proceedings in state and federal courts.
• Communicating with other government agencies and private institutions to gather information to develop and corroborate findings and testimony.
• Coordinating litigation logistics, including travel and use of site facilities with tribes, states, and United States Attorney's Offices and other government agencies. Preparing exhibits, charts, graphs, maps, procedural histories, case statements, and other records for presentation in court. Providing assistance at hearings and/or trials.
• Performing document management, including creating and maintaining litigation databases.
• Organizing and writing synopses of factual materials; summarizing depositions; preparing, organizing, and indexing administrative records; and preparing non-legal memoranda.
• Performing case docketing; maintaining filing deadline calendar and coordinating with attorneys on each court filing; and preparing and filing all documents using PACER (ECF) and/or other relevant court filing systems.

Salary

• $68,405 - $107,590/year

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
• You will be required to serve a one year probationary period.
• If this is your first appointment in the Federal Government, pay will be set at step 1 of the grade selected.

Qualifications To qualify for GS-9: You must have 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 have a Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR two (2) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D.; OR a combination of graduate education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

To qualify for GS-11: You must have 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 Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR three (3) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., if related; OR a combination of education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Note: Experience with water rights adjudication is highly desirable.

Qualifying education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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. Other Information

Career Transition Programs: The Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in DOJ with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If you have received written notification of your eligibility for consideration under CTAP/ICTAP, you may receive special priority consideration for this position if you satisfy all qualification requirements and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria.

Veterans Preference: If you are entitled to or claim veteran preference (VP), you should indicate the type of veteran preference (5 or 10 points) you are claiming on your resume. In order to determine your eligibility, you can find additional information at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/To verify your veteran preference entitlement, submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214; official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty; or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that shows your military service was performed under honorable conditions. If you are claiming 10-point preference, you must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reserve side of the SF-15, Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference. If you are claiming 10-point DERIVED PREFERENCE as a relative you must submit Member Copy 4 of the veteran's DD-214 and an SF-15 in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reverse side of the SF-15. If you fail to do so, you will receive consideration as a non-veteran.

Benefits: DOJ offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.General Employment Information:

1. DOJ EEO STATEMENT: The U.S. Department of Justice fosters an inclusive and diverse workforce, find our EEO statement online at: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1394116/dl?inline
2. SELECTIVE SERVICE: Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov

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:

1. Your resumé (cover letter optional)
2. 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.)
3. Documentation to support your claim for veteran preference, if applicable
4. CTAP/ICTAP documentation, if applicable

If you are using education to qualify for this position, or if education is required:

1. 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.
2. Your transcript must come from a nationally-accredited educational institution 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.
4. 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:

1. Submit all DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, Member-4 Copy) forms.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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:

1. You must submit your separation notice or agency RIF letter from your agency.
2. If you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you because of reduction-in-force.
3. See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.

Do not include the following types of information in your profile or resume:

• Classified or government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
• Encrypted and digitally signed documents

If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate content, you may not be considered for this vacancy.

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:

1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. 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.
5. 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
6. 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/???????

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. Learn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits