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USAJOBS · 2 weeks ago

Legal Assistant (Office Automation) - Open Continuous

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Full-time

Onsite

Entry, Mid Level

$40K/yr - $65K/yr

1+ years exp

USAJOBS is part of the Department of Justice, and they are seeking a Legal Assistant to support Assistant United States Attorneys. The role involves providing various legal assistance and office support services, including document preparation and litigation assistance.

ConsultingGovernmentHuman ResourcesInformation TechnologyInternetStaffing Agency

No H1B

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Serves as legal assistant responsible for supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) by providing a variety of legal assistance and office support services. The work requires knowledge of the processes, procedures, and practices of legal support activities in conjunction with a knowledge of clerical skills, and an ability to apply these skills to increase the effectiveness of the assigned AUSA

Using a variety of office software, provides automated litigation assistance to attorneys by preparing charts and other materials relating to trial preparation and presentations. Produces a variety of written documents utilizing a range of office automation software

Reviews incoming material and, based on established policy and procedure, determines the need for assembly and preparation of a variety of legal documents, e.g., complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels

Obligates funds for litigation expenses and monitors for continued necessity. Reviews bills and invoices and submits to budget office for payment. Maintains calendar of assigned active cases

Tracks filing, hearing, and trial dates, and scheduling conferences and interviews. Develops and maintains suspense system for ongoing cases and informs the AUSA of pending dates and deadlines

Contributes to reports summarizing the case status, including legal issues, factual issues, and case developments. Aids in summarizing the factual situation, the basis of the complaint, legal Issues presented and relevant case law

Codes and indexes discovery documents using legal case management software. Conducts document searches, organizes documents, conducts first level document review, and coordinates document production

Qualification

Legal document reviewOffice software proficiencyTyping speed (40 wpm)Legal case management softwareDocument assemblyCustomer serviceAttention to detailInterpersonal skillsTeamwork

Required

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

To be eligible at the GS-5 level, you must have: at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level; or four years of education above the high school level; or a combination of both specialized experience and education as explained below

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

Combining Education and Experience: Successfully completed post-high school education may be used to meet the total one year of specialized experience requirement equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience

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

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, develop 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.)

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

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

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education