Legal Administrative Specialist (Recent Graduates)

About the role

This position is part of the Pathways Recent Graduates Program, a one-year career development appointment. Upon successful completion of program requirements, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional appointment. You will join a team responsible for providing legal and litigative support to the Administrative Division for the District of Maine.

Responsibilities

• Review and organize complex factual material and other documentary data for investigations and trials.
• Prepare a variety of substantive legal documents to include extradition requests, grand jury and trial subpoenas, interrogatory requests, and documentation relevant to acquiring evidence or testimony.
• Provide advice on the most efficient method for preparing legal documents.
• Use tables and citation checking with efficiency.
• Develop and enter various case material into a computer database.
• Prepare charts, graphs, and tables to illustrate results.
• Prepare, develop, compile, or maintain jury instructions in preparing for trial.
• Prepare exhibits for trial, which typically involve a wide range of visual materials.
• Provide litigation case management and organize cases for court presentation.
• Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

• You must be a United States 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.
• You must submit a transcript or proof of degree/certificate.
• Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

To be eligible for a recent graduate appointment, ALL of the following requirements must be met:

• Recent Graduates must have obtained a qualifying associates, bachelors, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying accredited educational institution within the previous 2 years unless military service interfered with a veteran's eligibility to apply during that two year time frame. Veterans meeting the above exclusion may apply within 2 years of discharge or 6 years from the date of receipt of the degree whichever comes first.
• Recent graduates must be United States citizens or owe permanent allegiance to the United States.
• You must successfully complete a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
• All recent graduates are required to sign a Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement.
• Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment.

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

• Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing routine litigation support assignments such as assisting with organizing case information, including creating production logs and organizing responses; preparing discovery, including scanning, coding documents and creating CDs; providing support for court proceedings including preparing exhibits, compiling trial notebooks, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; verifying citations; and preparing a variety of legal documents; assisting in the use of technology to organize digital evidence; and editing a variety of legal documents, such as information requests, subpoenas, correspondence and memos.
• Education: One (1) full year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading such to a degree in a related field (e.g., Legal Studies, Law, Criminal Justice). Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.
• Combination of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements.
• Superior Academic Achievement: Possess a Bachelor's Degree AND possess at least one of the following criteria: class standing in the upper third of the graduating class; an overall GPA of 3.0 OR at least a 3.0 based on courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; a GPA of at least 3.5 based on the average of required courses completed in my major field OR based on the average of required courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; OR election to membership in a national scholastic honor society.

Benefits

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

This response is AI-generated, for reference only.