Job opening: Legal Assistant (Office Automation)
Salary: $43 510 - 70 067 per year
Published at: Nov 29 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/.
For more information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx.
As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
This position is also being announced to All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 24-SDTX-12214312-MP
Duties
If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team in the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas (SDTX). At the full performance level, you will support Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) by providing a variety of legal assistance and office support services. If selected, you will receive formal and/or on-the-job training as needed. Duties include:
- examining, preparing and processing a variety of technical legal documents, e.g., complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels;
- proofreading and cite checking legal briefs, memoranda, and other legal documents;
- providing assistance to attorneys in trial preparation by conducting non-complex research of litigation, statutes, regulations and court cases;
- assembling exhibits, affidavits, and other legal documents;
- assembling and organizing files and records material for disposition or transfer to records depository;
- maintaining calendar of assigned active cases;
- tracking filing, hearing, and trials dates, and scheduling conference and interviews;
- arranging travel by preparing itinerary and securing transportation and hotel reservations;
- producing a variety of written documents and materials using a wide range of office software applications.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Requirements
- You must be a United States Citizen or National.
- Background investigation, credit check, and drug test required.
- 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
GS-5: To be eligible at the GS-5 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level.
Specialized experience is defined as experience reviewing documents with legal implications for accuracy and completeness (e.g., court documents, real estate documents, contracts, insurance or benefits claims, mortgage or loan applications, tax forms, or other types of legal documents); typing and formatting correspondence and forms; maintaining file systems; and obtaining needed information from files or general reference sources.
Or
Education: Successfully completed four academic years of education above the high school level or possess a bachelor's or higher degree.
Or
Combination of Specialized experience and education: Must have less than the full amount of specialized experience described above or post-high school education described above, but have a combination of specialized experience and post-high school education which fully meets the qualification requirement of the position. (Please note: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.)
GS-6: To be eligible at the GS-6 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level.
Specialized experience is defined as experience reviewing legal documents such as complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels for completeness of factual information; retrieving and assembling information for hearing and/or trial use; researching a variety of legal sources to obtain and/or verify information; and using automated software to produce legal related reports, documents, correspondence and related materials.
GS-7: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level.
Specialized experience is defined as experience providing trial support to attorneys by preparing complaints, motions, subpoenas, orders, or other hearing and/or trial documents accurately and in proper format; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; assisting with discovery, hearing or trial preparation by performing duties such as compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and using software applications and legal and non-legal databases to produce legal related reports and documents, conduct factual research, developing tables of contents and indices to briefs, and prepare courtroom presentations.
To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors. (A typing test may later be required.)
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
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 Southern District of Texas
1000 Louisiana Street
Suite 2300
Houston, TX 77002
US
- Name: Ivy Wilson
- Phone: 713-567-9000
- Email: [email protected]
Map