LEGAL ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST

About the role

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for performing technical and analytical work to support the criminal litigation needs of the United States Attorney's Office.

Responsibilities

• Assisting and/or training attorneys and legal support staff in organizing voluminous case information for efficient retrieval through automated means such as scanning, indexing, etc.
• Meeting and consulting with attorneys and agents to ensure compliance with discovery disclosure obligations in criminal cases.
• Preparing computerized trial presentation programs; exercising proficiency in the use of eLitigation tools such as Relativity, OnCue, Everlaw, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
• Providing recommendations to attorneys and other district personnel on the most technically feasible, efficient, and cost-effective designs to meet user requirements and litigation objectives through automation.
• Managing and operating a variety of computer hardware such as printers, plotters, audio-visual devices, and other state-of-the-art eLitigation equipment.
• Ensuring computers and other electronic equipment are in place and operational in courtrooms, grand jury proceedings, and office presentations.
• Coordinating with vendors to ensure exhibits are prepared in a timely fashion, including preparing photo boards, maps, charts, and other demonstrative exhibits required for litigation.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication, including 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 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.

Qualifications

GS-7:

To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions:

• Specialized Experience: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in Federal service. Specialized experience includes:
  • Assisting with organizing case information, preparing discovery productions, including scanning and coding documents and creating CDs.
  • Assisting attorneys in preparing for court such as preparing exhibits, compiling trial notebooks, and compiling witness and exhibit lists.
  • Verifying citations.
  • Assisting in the use of technology to organize digital evidence.
  • Preparing, drafting, and editing a variety of legal and trial-related documents.
• Education: Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher-level graduate education (18 semester hours or equivalent) in a related field (e.g., IT, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Law) leading to a master's degree, OR a bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievement includes:
  • Standing in the upper third of your graduating class or major subdivision.
  • Membership in a national scholastic honor society.
  • Grade Point Average of:
    • 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
    • 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
• Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation.

GS-9:

To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions:

• Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience includes:
  • Managing case information through automated means such as scanning, indexing, and organizing documents in a database.
  • Providing assistance to facilitate the management of incoming and outgoing document discovery in accordance with e-Discovery or similar systems.
  • Assisting attorneys with trial preparation.
  • Utilizing office automation tools to create physical and digital trial presentations.
• Education: One of the following in a related field (e.g., IT, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Law):
  • A Master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D., if related); OR
  • 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree.
• Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Only graduate education in excess of 1 full year is creditable.

GS-11:

To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions:

• Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized experience includes:
  • Working in a legal environment providing technical advice to litigation teams on legal automation requirements and system capabilities.
  • Organizing and managing complex and voluminous case-specific discovery.
  • Assisting attorneys with trial preparation and presentation, including making recommendations on trial presentations.
  • Analyzing litigation support requirements to develop or recommend appropriate strategies to meet litigation needs.
  • Using automated litigation support technology such as Trial Director, OnCue, Everlaw, Relativity, or related programs to organize voluminous case information for retrieval, prepare computerized trial presentations, and index digital evidence.
  • Diagnosing and resolving litigation support computer system problems.
• Education: One of the following in a related field (e.g., IT, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Law):
  • A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
  • 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related.
• Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Graduate education must be in excess of two (2) years.

Additional Information

• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To qualify, you must:
  • Be within ICTAP eligibility.
  • Apply under the instructions in the announcement.
  • Be found well-qualified for this vacancy (score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria).
  Proof of eligibility, such as a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or separation personnel action form, must be provided.
• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): Provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority. To qualify, you must:
  • Be within CTAP eligibility.
  • Apply under the instructions in this announcement.
  • Be found well-qualified for this vacancy (score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria).
  A copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility must be provided with your application.
• Education: All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university accredited by a recognized accrediting body. Foreign education must be evaluated for comparability to U.S. accredited institutions. Documentation must be in English or include an English translation.
• Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

Benefits

The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.