For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under 24-MIE-12162183-ST.

Duties

Provides a wide range of complex legal support services to one or more Assistant U.S. Attorneys involved in criminal and civil prosecutions associated with Financial Litigation. Assignments typically relate to the collection of claims by various agencies against debtors arising from criminal and civil actions in accordance with opinions, determinations, and rulings on financial litigation cases relevant to the district. Paralegal duties require discretion and independent judgment in the application of laws, regulations, and precedents unique to federal debt collection and other affirmative litigation cases assigned to the district. The legal knowledge required is less than that represented by graduation from a recognized law school. Duties may include: Using multiple online legal systems, research references such as agency manuals, directives, issuances, court reports, appellate records or commercial legal publications to locate appropriate data such as applicable precedents, legislative history and commentaries which bear on particular legal issues. Organize and prepare research material and determines information that is pertinent to the case. Draft initial legal and administrative briefs, motions, oppositions to defense motions and correspondence. Prepare documents that summarize and explain case files, depositions, or interrogatories. Prepare and organize documentation and evidence for production as discovery and for use in hearings and other court proceedings. Gather financial and background information on debtors to determine their present and future potential ability to pay. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes 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
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

To be qualified for the GS-09 position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in federal service. Specialized Experience for GS-09: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing paralegal or legal work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions. Qualifying experience involves performing the following types of duties: examining and processing a variety of legal documents; conducting research, analysis and evaluation of data in response to complex or sensitive requests; drafting briefs, pleadings, litigation recommendations, or other legal documents and correspondence; using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information; documenting findings and preparing recommendations; searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel. OR Education: One of the following types of education a J.D. or LL.B; a masters or equivalent graduate degree or higher; OR two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in law, criminal justice, public administration, business administration, or a closely related field that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of a Paralegal Specialist. OR Combination of Education/Experience: Combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education, which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours that exceed 18 semester hours (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study), then divide the total number of your excess graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study). To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation.) To be qualified for the GS-11 position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in federal service. Specialized Experience GS-11: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience independently performing a variety of analytical paralegal or legal work which demonstrates a practical knowledge of law, the litigation and judicial process, and applicable rules, regulations, policies, and procedures. Qualifying experience involved performing the following types of duties: Conducting legal research concerning precedents and past court decisions; summaries of analyses and decisions, and pre-trial documents Independently performs extensive and thorough legal research; composed legal and administrative briefs, summaries of analyses and decisions, and pre-trial documents; prepare indices of legal and administrative material; or obtains and analyzes financial information on debtors to determine their present and future potential ability to pay; initiate contact with debtors concerning payment of their obligations, their ability to pay, and negotiate written payment schedules to assure successful collection of debts; or interpret and enforce judgments in criminal cases, and independently perform all functions to collect amounts imposed. Education: One of the following types of education an LL.B; a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in law, criminal justice, public administration, business administration, or a closely related field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Paralegal Specialist. Combination of Education/Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 2 full years.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov

OR

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Contacts

• Address Eastern District of Michigan 211 W. Fort Street Suite 2001 Detroit, MI 48226 US
• Name: Kayla Nabors
• Phone: 313-226-9130
• Email: [email protected]