Hybrid Paralegal Specialist at Department of Justice

Paralegal Specialist

Department: Department of Justice

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $69923 - $90898 Per Year

Job Summary: The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is unique in the size and the scope of its work. It serves as both the local and the federal prosecutor for the nation's capital. On the local side, AUSAs assigned to the Superior Court Division prosecute cases ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. On the federal side, AUSAs assigned to the Criminal Division prosecute federal crimes. The Civil Division further defends the United States in civil suits brought in the District of Columbia.

Major Duties:

• If selected for a position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for performing a variety of complex paralegal assignments in the Criminal Division U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia (USAO-DC) Criminal Division. The candidate(s) will be assigned to one of the following sections. The candidate should include a cover letter indicating a preference for a particular section(s). The Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Unit ("CEHT") handles investigations and prosecutions of federal sex offenses, such as the production, distribution, and receipt of child pornography. CEHT also prosecutes human trafficking offenses, including sex trafficking of minors and adults. The mission of the Federal Major Crimes Section ("FMC") handles a wide variety of cases, including but not limited to: (1) firearms offenses, (2) narcotics offenses, (3) kidnappings and carjackings, (4) Hobbs Act robberies, (5) bank robberies, (6) frauds, (7) interstate threats and threats against public officials, (8) immigration and passport/visa offenses, and (9) other similar offenses. The Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section ("FPCCR") prosecutes white-collar offenses, such as frauds on government agencies, including health-care fraud, tax fraud, and frauds on COVID-19 relief programs; frauds targeting businesses, non-profits, and social institutions, whether by insiders or outsiders, including business email compromise schemes; foreign corrupt practices; money laundering networks perpetrating frauds against financial institutions and online through cryptocurrencies; and cyber-enabled frauds (such as malware and carding forums) and crimes (such as hacking/intrusion). It also prosecutes public corruption offenses, such as bribery of local and federal officials; willful conflicts of interest; theft of government funds; election crimes; and efforts to obstruct or interfere with the lawful functioning of Congress, the Judiciary, and Executive Branch. The Unit is equally committed to prosecuting civil rights offenses, such as crimes based on protected characteristics, including race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability; excessive force by law enforcement; and other color-of-law violations. The Violent Crimes and Narcotics Trafficking Offenses ("VCNT") Unit places an emphasis on proactive, intelligence-driven, long- and medium-term criminal investigations, and prosecutions focus on violent and armed crews and conspiracies, collective conduct, and repeat offenders. VCNT's prosecutions target everything from criminal street gangs to international syndicates and span a broad range of subjects and statutes, from firearms and narcotics conspiracies, interstate robbery conspiracies, and RICO and VICAR prosecutions, to darknet drug trafficking and money laundering, Continuing Criminal Enterprises, and Title III wiretap investigations. Typical work assignments will include: - Provides direct paralegal assistance to attorneys handling sensitive matters in support of the mission and function of the Criminal Division. - Conducts legal and factual research and analysis. - Provides litigation case management support, i.e., monitoring and managing discovery. - Provides in-courtroom presentation of exhibits and trial support. - Prepares and files investigative legal process, including subpoenas, search warrants, and non-disclosure orders. - Prepares exhibits for trial, which typically involve a wide range of visual materials including charts, diagrams, photographs, and models. - Participates in interviews with agents and potential witnesses to assist Attorneys in preparation for grand jury or trial. - Daily interaction with internal and external law enforcement partners and court personnel. - Maintains and performs tasks using legal databases and software systems. - Performing other related duties as assigned. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. 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-DC-12752323-DE.

Qualifications: To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 federal level, or Master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field (such as an LL.B or J.D.) or a combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7 level work. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the competencies needed to perform the job duties. Specialized experience requires the knowledge of the litigation process, federal and local court rules and court procedures to perform the assignments. Examples of such experience are: providing attorneys legal, administrative, and technical support for investigations and prosecutions; conducting legal and factual research; preparing evidence and exhibits; drafting legal documents for review, including motions, search warrants, arrest warrants, and documentation relevant to other actions related to the acquisition of evidence and/or testimony for criminal investigations; preparing grand jury and trial subpoenas, attachments to subpoenas and other technical documents; providing in-courtroom presentation of exhibits and trial support; interacting with internal and external law enforcement partners and court personnel; maintaining and performing tasks using legal databases and software systems. OR Education: One of the following types of education in a related field: Master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B or J.D.); or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university. OR 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. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours then divide the total number of your graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study). To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year. 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

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/07/2025 the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: 1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. 2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. 3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 07/07/2025. 4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. 5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements) 6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12752324To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Application Deadline: 2025-07-07