Paralegal Specialist

Summary

About the Position:
This position is with the Department Of Defense Education Activity; Headquarters; Office of the General Counsel; Administrative Branch in Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria, Virginia, is a city on the Potomac River, just south of Washington, DC.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

• Assists in the preparation for litigation, analyzes facts and legal questions, and performs similar functions.
• Provide general paralegal and administrative support to all attorneys within the office.
• Support the Administrative Law Division, especially in administering the ethics program.
• Prepares litigation calendars and organizes logistical arrangements for conducting witness interviews.
• Monitors status of pending legal, administrative, and other actions to ensure timely disposition by the action attorney.
• Maintaining updates to the OGC litigation case management system.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Requirement.
• Proof of U.S. Citizenship required.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• One year trial or probationary period may be required.
• Appointment subject to a suitability/fitness determination, as determined by a background investigation.
• This position requires a Tier 1 (T1) investigation
• This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• Qualified applicant must possess a paralegal certificate;
• OR at least 2 years of related paralegal experience obtained within the past 5 years (e.g., work experience at a law firm, in labor relations or human resources, or in an in-house litigation department).

Qualifications

Who May Apply: U.S. Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the expereince requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes providing legal support in the areas of ethics, administrative and civil law, contracts and fiscal law, litigation support, labor and employment law, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act issues, automation and miscellaneous legal issues involving DoDEA schools; legal research utilizing CyberFEDS and Westlaw; reviewing, organizing, and/or filing documents for inclusion in an administrative record (e.g., locating missing documents, inconsistent material, leads not investigated, etc.); preparing draft motions, briefs, and discovery for assigned attorney; and maintaining updates to the OGC litigation case management system; assists attorneys in administration of Agency's ethics program; performing administrative duties such as: retrieving files, cataloguing; composes correspondence by adapting, consolidating and highlighting information into a format which most effectively answers inquiries and prepares in final form for signature of the attorney.

Education Substitution: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience above in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualifications requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Additional information

• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• This position is not covered by a bargaining unit.
• You may claim Military Spouse preference.
• You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

Applicants with disability who need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should notify ra@dodea.edu.

if you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommoda… Read more

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How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Information Management
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Research
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Writing

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Basis for Rating: Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of three quality categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. Veteran preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

• Best Qualified. Candidates in this category possess exceptional skills and experience to exceed well above the minimum requirements for the announced position.
• Highly Qualified. Candidates in this category possess good skills and experience above the minimum requirements for the announced position.
• Qualified. Candidates in this category meet the minimum experience requirements for the announced position.