Paralegal Specialist
About the role
This position is with the Office of Associate Chief Counsel, Enforcement and Operations, Washington, DC. The Office of Chief Counsel is one of the Government's largest and oldest legal offices. OCC attorneys work on cutting-edge legal issues and provide critical advice across the CBP portfolio, including trade enforcement, search and seizure, immigration, and government ethics. They also represent the agency in labor and employment matters and provide litigation support to the Department of Justice.
Responsibilities
In this Paralegal Specialist position, you will join a team of legal professionals within the Office of Chief Counsel. Typical duties for this position could include:
- Receiving, investigating, examining and evaluating subpoenas, and other requests for Agency and personnel information from federal and state law enforcement agencies for possible disclosure in judicial proceedings
- Compiling, organizing and analyzing documentary evidence of regulatory violations to be utilized by attorneys in administrative and judicial collection proceedings
- Providing information and making recommendations in justifying the CBP's legal position in regard to legal challenges to Agency actions
- Obtaining, organizing, analyzing and recommending agency action with respect to matters relating to the Federal Tort Claims Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act
- Organizing, summarizing, and analyzing depositions and documents obtained during discovery phase of agency litigation
Qualifications
GS-11 Grade Level: You qualify if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
- Receiving, investigating, examining and evaluating subpoenas, and other requests for Agency and personnel information from federal and state law enforcement agencies for possible disclosure in judicial proceedings
- Compiling, organizing and analyzing documentary evidence of regulatory violations to be utilized by attorneys in administrative proceedings
- Providing information and making recommendations to justify the CBP's legal position in legal challenges to Agency actions
- Obtaining, organizing, analyzing and recommending agency action with respect to matters relating to the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act
- Organizing, summarizing, and analyzing depositions and documents obtained during discovery phase of agency litigation
Education Substitution (GS-11): You may substitute a Ph.D. or an equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in any field, or L.L.M for the experience required at the GS-11 grade level. Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours. You are required to submit proof of your claim.
Combining Education and Experience (GS-11): To combine your education and experience, you must convert each to a percentage, and then add the percentages. The combined total of your percentage of education and experience must equal at least 100% in order to qualify. If your education is currently described in quarter hours, convert the quarter hours into semester hours by multiplying the quarter hours by the fraction 2/3. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, divide the number of graduate semester hours in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level, by 18. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience. Add your percentages of education and experience. The two percentages must total at least 100%.
GS-12 Grade Level: You qualify if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
- Participating in pre-trial and pre-hearing preparation; scheduling and coordination of witnesses, assembly of administrative records and files, and preparing digests of transcripts of testimony from formal investigations, administrative proceedings and litigation in Federal and state courts
- Researching information using various legal resources; preparing litigation documents and discovery requests; and preparing responses to various motions
- Identifying, recommending and implementing record keeping systems, reviewing, analyzing and recommending responses to administrative cases
- Defining issues in terms compatible with the relevant laws, policies, and regulations; interpreting considerable data, weighing facts in order to formulate a legally and factually supportable position; and giving advice, counsel, or instruction to individual employees on both work and administrative matters
- Setting priorities, planning work and meeting deadlines
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Pay
This position starts at a salary of $74,678.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $116,632.00 (GS-12, Step 10) with promotion potential to $116,632.00 (GS-12 Step 10). GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts. Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.
Requirements
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
- Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
- All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
- You may be required to pass a background investigation
- CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
- Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties.
- DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.
- Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.
- You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process
- Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 09/04/2026
- The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation