Job opening: Paralegal Specialist
Salary: $49 025 - 77 955 per year
Relocation: YES
Published at: Feb 07 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
About the Position: This position is in the District Office located in the heart of beautiful downtown Nashville, TN, the home of country music. It's a three block walk to the historic Ryman Auditorium and Music Row, where you will exercise discretion and independent judgment in the application of laws, regulations, precedents, and agency practices, and apply a working knowledge of the forms, content, and uses of legal documents and the steps and procedures involved in processing legal actions.
Duties
Research and analyze factual and legal questions which present a variety of issues.
Research and assist with drafting litigation reports, motions, briefs, discovery, and pleadings.
Receive, process, research, and analyze Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, including initiating letters in response to requests and preparing legal analysis supporting recommended denials for submission.
Process tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Acts, including correspondence, provision and analysis of claim forms, gathering and evaluation of evidence, creating draft litigation risk memos, and managing relevant claims databases.
Render assistance with and compile Rule 4 and other administrative and litigation records, exhibits, including visual aids, and provides exhibits to the parties and the Judge.
Communicate and manage litigations holds on records within the district.
Perform a variety of administrative or other legal support functions as identified by the supervisor which are necessary for full performance in the position.
Perform intake of work requests from the organization, track and report completion of such work requests to supervisor and legal team.
Requirements
- Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
Qualifications
Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.
Current Department of Army Civilian EmployeesCurrent Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel WorkforceInteragency Career Transition Assistance PlanLand Management Workforce Flexibility ActNon-Department of Defense (DoD) TransferPriority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician EligiblePriority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) EligiblePriority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability RetirementPriority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference EligibleReinstatementVeterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience 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. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.
For GS-07:
Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes performing paralegal or legal work, applying a basic knowledge of legal research and the ability to interpret legal decisions; drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondences; assisting with preparation of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request responses; assisting with Tort Claims and/or maintaining a Tort Claims journal: assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing and indexing various evidentiary exhibits; utilizing various computerized database programs to organize documents. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).
OR
One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:
(1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR
(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) 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 the curriculum.; OR
(3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).
OR
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) by 18. Add the two percentages.
For GS-09:
Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes examining and processing a variety of legal documents; conducting research, analysis and evaluation of data in response to complex or sensitive requests; processing requests under information disclosure statutes such as Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and or Privacy Act (PA) 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; document findings and preparing recommendations; searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).
OR
A Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
OR
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.
You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:
Information ManagementLegal, Government and JurisprudenceTeamwork
Time in Grade Requirement:
For GS-07 - Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-05).
For GS-09 - Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-07).
Education
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit:
https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Contacts
- Address RE-W2SM03 US ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT-NASHVILLE
DO NOT MAIL
Nashville, TN 37203
US
- Name: Army Applicant Help Desk
Map