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 All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 25-.OHS-12650078-DE

Duties

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team as a Paralegal Specialist in the Civil Division, Financial Litigation Program, of the United States Attorney's Office (USAO). Typical work assignments include, but are not limited to: Preparing a variety of legal documents to include various motions, foreclosures, garnishments, and other legal actions to affect necessary post-judgment action regarding debt due to the U.S. government; Researching case law, statutes, regulations, court rules, policies, procedures, legal periodicals, and other legal authorities that are relevant to cases identified by attorney(s); Processing debt collection claims referred from client agencies and performing necessary follow-up; Conducting interviews of debtors, employers, and agency officials to determine the effectiveness of pursuing legal action against debtors in default; Making recommendations on whether and when to proceed for garnishment of a debtor's salary or bank accounts, for judgment debtor examination in aid of execution, or for attachment and levy on a given debtor's property; Assisting in the enforcement of criminal judgement and commitment orders, and performing all functions to collect amounts imposed as a result of the prosecution of criminal cases; Developing and entering various case material into established computer databases, and using databases to perform searches, run reports, and retrieve information; Providing administrative support to assigned attorneys. 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.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

GS-7:To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: : One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing legal assistance work which provides basic knowledge of legal terminology, principles, and concepts. Examples of specialized experience may include drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondence; gathering and summarizing information on specific issues; preparing and reviewing a variety of legal documents for accuracy; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; locating and reviewing case files and/or other material to obtain status of cases; utilizing various computerized database programs to organize documents and exhibits for pending cases; and establishing, maintaining, and closing case files. Education: Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher level graduate education (18 semester hours or the number of units your school uses to describe one graduate year of academic study) in related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law,) leading to a master's degree OR bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievement is as follows: standing in the upper third of your graduating class or major subdivision OR membership in one of the national scholastic honor Societies; OR Grade Point Average. Applicants must have a grade point average of: (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their 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. Combining Education and 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, a combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education as described above, which when combined equal 100% of the requirements.(Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation 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/. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement. Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Types-of-Appointments

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 Ohio 303 Marconi Blvd. Columbus, OH 43215 US
• Name: Rebecca Walton
• Phone: 6142551536
• Email: [email protected]