Legal Administrative Specialist

Summary

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts represents the entire state and its 6.8 million residents. Of the 94 U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the United States and its territories, the District of Massachusetts is one of the busiest, prosecuting a broad range of cases including national security, white collar crime, public corruption, cybercrime, narcotics and money laundering, organized crime and gang violence, and civil rights violations.

Duties

This position is also being announced to applicants under Merit Staffing procedures under 27-MA-13095629-MP. This Legal Administrative Specialist provides the full range of legal support services to one or more Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) involved in criminal matters, including grand jury investigations for federally cognizable cases. If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing Legal Administrative Specialist support in the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, located in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing in the area of legal support services. Typical work assignments will include: Researching, analyzing, and summarizing relevant legal precedents for applicability to assigned cases. Analyzing records to isolate facts pertinent to distinct legal issues. Supporting the investigative or trial team in its interviews of agents and potential witnesses to assist the AUSA in preparation for grand jury or trial. Organizing, reviewing, summarizing and outlining grand jury and/or trial testimony to assist to AUSA in preparation for grand jury or trial. Providing advice to attorney and other legal support staff on the most effective and efficient ways to prepare, present and maintain a variety of administrative legal documents. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level in which you are applying: To qualify at the GS-07 level, you must possess: Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service performing (obtained in either the public or private sectors) three (3) out of four (4) of the following duties: Assisting with organizing case information, such as creating grand jury logs, organizing grand jury responses, or preparing discovery productions; Assisting attorneys with court preparation, such as the preparation of exhibits, compilation of trial notebooks, and/or organization of witness and exhibit lists; Preparing, editing and/or organizing a variety of legal documents, such as information requests, subpoenas, correspondence or memos; Using technology to organize digital evidence. OR Successful completion of one full year of graduate level education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university and my education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. (You must provide supporting transcripts). OR Successful completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a course of study that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work and I meet at least one of the requirements for superior academic achievement (SAA): 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. 2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of 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 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. (Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.) 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. (You must submit transcripts.) OR A combination of the above-described specialized experience and education. I have some specialized experience as described in A, but less than one year; and I have more than one year but less than two years of education as described in B. I have computed the percentage of the requirements that I meet, and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must submit transcripts.) To qualify at the GS-09 level, you must possess: Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service performing (obtained in either the public or private sectors) three (3) out of four (4) of the following duties: Analyzing or evaluating legal decisions or case files to identify relevant issues or potential evidence; Utilizing appropriate litigation technology software to assist with trial preparation, such as rendering audiovisual materials or presenting information during trials; Organizing voluminous case information for retrieval, such as electronic evidence, exhibits, witness testimony or discovery; Drafting a variety of legal documents, such as information request, subpoenas, correspondence, or memos. OR Successful completion of one of the following types of education in a related field, such as (Criminal Justice, Law, Legal Studies): a master's degree 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. My education was obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. (You must submit transcripts.) OR A combination of specialized experience as described in A, but less than one year; and I have at least one year of graduate education as described in B, which when combined equals 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of education, first determine the total number of hours that exceed 18 semester hours (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study) then divide the total number of your excess 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%. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation). (You must submit transcripts.) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. 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. Yo