Paralegal Specialist

About the role

This position serves as a Paralegal Specialist (Bankruptcy), located in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Trustee Program (USTP or the Program). USTP is a litigating component of the Department of Justice (DOJ) whose mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the nation's bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders - debtors, creditors, and the public.

Responsibilities

• Perform a variety of paralegal support assignments relating to bankruptcy cases filed under title 11, U.S.C.
• Assignments require significant specialized knowledge in bankruptcy law.
• Provide legal assistance and technical work requiring specialized knowledge of processes, procedures, and practices in connection with Chapters 7, 11, and 13 cases.
• Support assignments of this nature generally involve the form, content, and processing of legal documents and the procedures involved in storing and retrieving case information.
• Provide trial and deposition support to include the organizing and creation of exhibits.
• Perform detailed legal research, including legislative history.
• Conduct factual research related to public corporations and corporate grievances. Verify citations and legal references.
• Format, edit, and proofread documents.
• Review bankruptcy petitions, schedules, and statements to identify fraud or abuse.
• Draft pleadings in cases that follow established precedents and attend/participate in case review meetings.
• Maintain and organize multiple case-management systems.
• Initiate action to ensure that legal pleadings, forms, reports, correspondence, and other documents are prepared.
• Draft simple motions and complaints objecting to discharge.
• Perform administrative duties supporting attorneys and auditors.
• Perform administrative duties as needed for the field office or Region. Periodic travel is required, depending on work assignments and training.

Qualifications

To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying.

• To qualify for the GS-7 level, you must meet one of the following requirements for the position:
• A. EXPERIENCE GS-7: Have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as meeting the following: Applying a general knowledge of basic legal terms and concepts; providing routine administrative support to attorneys; researching case law to address simple legal questions; and/or reviewing and/or editing legal documents.
• OR B. EDUCATION (Graduate level) GS-7: Have one full year of graduate level education. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 full years of full-time study. Note: For the purpose of qualifications, 1 full year of graduate education is equivalent to 18 semester hours.
• OR C. EDUCATION (Superior Academic Achievement) GS-7: Education may be substituted for specialized experience with a Bachelor's degree that included curriculum related to this position and Superior Academic Achievement. Superior Academic Achievement can be based on one of the following: Class standing - being in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university or major subdivision; Grade point average - a) having a 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on an official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of curriculum or b) having a 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of curriculum; or national scholastic honor society membership (other than a freshman honor society).
• OR D. COMBINATION GS-7: A combination of education and specialized experience. A combination of education and specialized 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 qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the 2 percentages. Note: For the purpose of qualifications, 1 full year of graduate education is equivalent to 18 semester hours.