This vacancy is for a Paralegal Specialist position located in the Office of the Secretary, Office of Chief Counsel for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the Department of Commerce. The Paralegal Specialist performs a variety of legal support duties such as legal and factual research, analyze the legal impact of legislative developments and administrative and judicial decisions, and various professional legal work carried out by the office.

Duties

As a Paralegal Specialist, you will perform the following duties: Conduct legal and factual research, analyzing the legal impact of legislative developments and administrative and judicial decisions, opinions, determinations, and rulings on agency programs. Conduct first-level document review and substantive legal analysis of responses to requests for information submitted under the provisions of various acts, including, but not limited to, the Freedom of Information Act and related to litigation. Uses a variety of computer software and resources, including Westlaw, Lexis-Nexis, PACER, and other reference sources such as administrative directives, court reports, and legal publications to assist attorneys in all aspects of legal work. Draft, proofread, and edits documents, agreements, correspondence, forms, memoranda and other written materials in adherence with established policies and procedures; legal writing, to include proper citation format, legal reference checking, and application of basic rules of grammar. Maintain updated internal docketing records and enters incoming and outgoing correspondence into docketing system daily. Organize patent dockets to support the government interest in intellectual property; assisting patent attorneys in prosecution of patent applications; reviewing technical documents, invention disclosure review, and filings with the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Organize and maintain electronic and physical files, accurately processing and tracking legal records, reporting the status of the patent portfolio, and maintain depository account. Interprets and applies or explains to others the application of a body of law, regulations, precedents, or theories. Perform substantive analysis of requests for information under the provisions of various acts. Provide timely feedback to internal and external queries while exercising attention to detail including meeting federal filing deadlines and established due dates, and providing accuracy in work product, excellent organization, time management, and multi-tasking and proofreading skills. This position is also advertised under OS-OGC-DE-24-12460400, which is open to Delegated Examining eligible applicants. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both. This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Paralegal Specialist GS-0950-12 FPL GS-12 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Requirements

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies; knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To qualify at the GS-12 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level (or equivalent band) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Drafting legal documents and responses; Maintaining electronic files and discovery databases; and Researching laws, court precedents, and/or federal regulations in the preparation of litigation.

Education

There is no positive education requirement for this position.

Contacts

• Address Office of the Secretary 1401 Constitution Ave NW Washington, DC 20230 US
• Name: Shawn Blain
• Email: [email protected]