Legal Assistant / Fact Witness Coordinator Supporting the USAO

About the Role

This position is for a Paralegal II performing Fact Witness Coordinator duties in support of the overall mission of the United States Attorney's Office (USAO).

Responsibilities

• Provide witness management assistance prior to, during, and after trial.
• Work directly with fact witnesses, providing assistance and support to ensure appearance for court, pre-trial conferences, and grand jury.
• Receive visitors, field phone calls, questions, and other inquiries from fact witnesses seeking information about court appearances, pre-trial conferences, grand jury appearances, and expense reimbursement.
• Obtain pertinent information for files and documents necessary to arrange witness travel and reimbursements.
• Initiate contact and notify fact witnesses concerning travel arrangements, appearance date/time, and determine any special circumstances or needs of the fact witness.
• Use judgment to determine when the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) should be notified of special circumstances or needs of fact witnesses.
• Confer with AUSA concerning fact witness appearance and special circumstances regarding witnesses (special authorizations, international witnesses, military/federal employee witnesses, or hostile witnesses).
• Complete and submit proper documentation for special authorizations and obtain prior approval before proceeding with travel arrangements.
• Ensure all travel documents and appearance date and time have been provided to the witness prior to their appearance.
• Make necessary arrangements for fact witness travel and lodging according to Department of Justice and USAO policies and procedures.
• Meet with fact witnesses upon arrival to designated hearing or pre-trial conference, offer and perform courtroom orientation, accompany witness to court, ensure a safe waiting area is available, and collect necessary documentation and signatures for fact witness reimbursement documents.
• Prepare and submit documentation for fact witness reimbursement, such as witness vouchers and other required documentation.
• Furnish requested information concerning pending and completed fact witness vouchers.
• Gather required documentation and reconcile Government Travel Accounts.
• Obtain information, confer, and coordinate with the Court, Probation, Pretrial, U.S. Marshals Service, investigative agencies, and other counterparts when necessary.
• Complete variable aspects of recurring documents in conformance with the rules governing their style and format.
• Compose original letters that do not require legal interpretations but require a good working knowledge of legal procedures and specialized terminology relevant to fact witness laws and regulations.
• Perform general office procedures pertaining to fact witness management, including:
  • Establish and maintain a variety of fact witness files, documents, and databases.
  • Assemble documents and other information for fact witness file material and retention in accordance with established procedures and Department of Justice regulations.
  • If requested, establish and maintain a calendar and/or database of active and pending fact witness appearances.
  • Track hearings, trial dates, grand jury, and scheduling conferences.
  • Perform other administrative and logistical fact witness management-related duties as required or assigned.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED required; undergraduate degree preferred.
• Must have 1 year's experience in a related field.
• Good communication skills.
• Ability to provide word processing and data entry/retrieval.
• Ability to review and analyze data and information from multiple sources.
• Ability to establish case/project files.
• Ability to enter and retrieve data from databases.
• Ability to prepare and format management reports.
• Ability to manipulate, transfer, compute, and print information.
• Ability to prepare and correct reports.
• Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

This position requires U.S. Citizenship and a 7 (or 10) year minimum background investigation.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits are offered with greater choice and flexibility to support your health, work-life balance, and professional growth. A package providing employee-only coverage can be built around basic plans at $0 employee cost for:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Term Life Insurance
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
• Short-Term Disability
• Employee Assistance Program