Paralegal Specialist - Appellate Division (Pathways Recent Graduate)

This is an excepted service appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduates Program. This appointment is a one-year career development program. At the successful completion of the program requirements, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional appointment. For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit: OPM Pathways Program.

About the Role

If selected for this position, you will serve as a Paralegal Specialist within the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California. At the full performance level, you will support Appellate Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) by providing a variety of paralegal or legal work that demonstrates practical knowledge of law, the litigation and judicial process, and applicable rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Conduct legal research on cases and issues identified by AUSAs, utilizing statutes, case law, regulations, court rules, legal periodicals, and policy documents.
• Prepare drafts of a variety of legal documents, such as pleadings, memoranda of law, trial briefs, appellate briefs, summonses, complaints, indictments, answers, motion papers, and stipulations.
• Review and organize complex factual material and other documentary data for appellate briefing.
• Provide advice on the most efficient method for preparing legal documents.
• Generate tables, proofread drafts, and check citations in drafts with efficiency.
• Develop and enter various case material into a computer database.
• Maintain calendars and track deadlines for court filings.
• Provide advanced case support to AUSAs by reviewing witness materials, identifying deficiencies, and coordinating needed investigative follow-up.

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

Occasional travel may be required.

Requirements

• You must be a United States 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.
• 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 associate’s, bachelor’s, 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. Veterans may apply within 2 years of discharge or 6 years from the date of receipt of the degree, whichever comes first. Verify accreditation status at U.S. Department of Education.
• 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.

GS-7 Level

To be eligible at the GS-7 level, 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 includes drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondence, assisting in the preparation and organization of documentation and evidence for production as discovery and for use in trial, compiling and indexing evidentiary exhibits, preparing draft lists of exhibits, reviewing legal documents to extract information, verifying citations and statutory references, and utilizing computerized database programs.
• Education: One full year of progressively high-level graduate education (18 semester hours) in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies, Law) leading to a master’s degree, or a completed bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement.
• Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements.

GS-9 Level

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 performing legal research using statutes, case law, regulations, court rules, policy documents, and electronic databases such as Westlaw and Lexis; summarizing findings into memoranda; drafting pleadings, memoranda, briefs, motions, and other legal documents; assisting with oral-argument preparation by gathering and indexing briefs, case law, and record materials.
• Education: A master’s or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D.), or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law).
• 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 1 full year.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution accredited or pre-accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of qualifying schools, see U.S. Department of Education.

Foreign Education

You may use foreign education to meet qualification requirements if you provide a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence. More information may be found at U.S. Department of Education Foreign Education. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Benefits

The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part:

• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Telework options
• Life insurance
• Health benefits
• Participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit U.S. Department of Justice.