Paralegal Specialist

About the role

Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Legal Operations (Legal Ops) throughout the country. This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Responsibilities

• Researching laws, regulations, court decisions, opinions, legislative history, and other legal authorities and analyzing and applying such findings to support attorneys, including using automated legal research tools where appropriate.
• Assisting attorneys in preparing for and representing the United States Government in immigration proceedings before immigration judges or other tribunals, frequently involving evidentiary, procedural, and substantive issues in pending cases, and facilitating communication between attorneys and clients, witnesses, or other parties.
• Reviewing case-related documents for conformity with standardized formatting, grammar, legal citations, and practice manuals prior to signature and issuance by attorneys.
• Monitoring and updating databases and repositories using an electronic case management system or similar system.
• Assisting in preparing correspondence, motions, briefs, case summaries, and other written work product in draft and final form; and affidavits, discovery requests, responses, evidentiary packages, and other legal documents for immigration proceedings and federal litigation.
• Compiling, summarizing, and analyzing case information, statistics, or other relevant data for attorneys or to support leadership's decision-making and performance tracking.
• Managing calendars, deadlines, and other logistical aspects of legal work.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. You must successfully pass a drug screen. Males born after 12/31/59 must certify registration with Selective Service.

Qualifications

Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Minimum Qualifications

• GS-09: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service that included experience such as: Drafting and editing memoranda, research reports, and/or correspondences relating to legal cases; Reviewing case materials; Preparing and organizing trial exhibits; Preparing summaries of testimony and depositions OR Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify for the GS-09 level. To qualify based on education you must have: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; ORTwo (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.
• GS-11: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that included experience such as: Analyzing cases related to immigration law; Assisting attorney's in case preparation by analyzing facts and legal questions; Classifying and interpreting data from a variety of sources related to immigration matters; Collecting, reviewing, and fact-finding supporting documentation for court proceedings OR Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify for the GS-11 level. To qualify based on education you must have: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; ORThree (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.
• GS-12: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-11 level in the Federal service that included experience such as: Researching relevant legislation, regulations, case law, and policy; Preparing litigation reports in connection with lawsuits filed against an agency or organization; Reviewing, analyzing, and recommending appropriate responses on appeals; Evaluating evidence, facts, and circumstances relating to cases and make recommendations within the requirements of the law and regulations There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level