Paralegal Specialist

1. Participates in the substantive development of cases in Gen Law/Civil Law by performing the following functions. Analyzes and evaluates comprehensive rules, regulations, techniques, and procedures concerning case litigation worthiness standards in civil law matters.
2. Provides paralegal support in the Military Justice Division and provides assistance to other support and staff trial attorneys in the development of cases.
3. Performs Paralegal Support administrative duties in support of the legal office. Reviews all publications, regulations, and directives in order to stay abreast of current Air Force policies relating to the legal office.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• Males must be registered for Selective Service, see www.sss.gov
• This position is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program
• Disclosure of Political Appointments
• Depending on the type of position (competitive/excepted) you are selected for, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period.
• Upon completion of your probationary/trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• Employee may be assigned to either the General Law or Military Justice Division for primary duties, as a vacancy or need exists
• May be required to work overtime, occasional TOY and special projects by SJA, Deputy SJA
• Employee may be required to function as a Notary Public. Must be able to satisfactorily complete training to become a Notary Public and be able to meet bonding or other requirements inherent in the appointment as a Notary Public
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Administrative and Management Positions.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-07, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes knowledge of the principles, concepts, and methods of legal research and analysis sufficient to perform recurring case development and documentation assignments which are typically covered by established precedents. Knowledge of legal techniques and skills necessary to analyze both issues of fact and issues of law in order to prepare digests of case decisions, evaluate the applicability of precedents, or to draft briefs, other litigation papers, advisory opinions, or findings.

OR
EDUCATION: master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., may be credited where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts.

OR
COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: 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%. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts.

FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-07 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. NOTE: Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. Knowledge of the principles, concepts, and methods of legal research and analysis sufficient to perform recurring case development and documentation assignments which are typically covered by established precedents. Knowledge of the litigation activities of the Air Force and of statistical techniques sufficient to gather and analyze data and to evaluate its usefulness in resolving legal issues.
2. Knowledge of general operations of law enforcement and legal terminology. Knowledge of instructions, rules, regulations, and procedures relative to specialized legal and paralegal matters, and civilian personnel matters, in order to provide training and assistance. Knowledge of interviewing techniques sufficient to interview potential witnesses, victims, investigators, and other sources of information and skill in developing evidence to support the agency's litigation activities.
3. Knowledge of office functions to screen telephone calls and visitors, prepare and review correspondence, and perform other administrative work of the organization.
4. Ability to communicate effectively, in writing and verbal communications; to prepare legal briefs and summaries of analyses.
5. Skills of computer databases and ability to operate computers and computer software programs. Ability to troubleshoot hardware and software problems on computer terminals and to determine the best method to correct the issue. Ability to administer use of the local area network and resolve local area network connectivity problems.
6. Knowledge of Federal civilian personnel and Federal civilian pay policies. Ability to analyze and solve problems.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.