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Paralegal Specialist

Department of Justice
U.S. Trustee Program
This job announcement has closed

Summary

You will provide administrative and legal support services to the United States Trustee (UST), Assistant United States Trustee (AUST), attorneys, and associated investigative, audit, and administrative staff by performing legal research, analysis, & case related administrative services.



Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
06/10/2019 to 07/01/2019
Salary
$51,853 to - $93,077 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
San Francisco, CA
1 vacancy
Wichita, KS
1 vacancy
Baltimore, MD
2 vacancies
Newark, NJ
2 vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DE-10520419-19-WS
Control number
535898800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

United States Citizens PLEASE NOTE: NO POSITIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN ATLANTA, GA.

Duties

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The following are duties you can expect to perform at the full performance level:

  • Perform a variety of complex paralegal support assignments relating to bankruptcy cases filed under title 11, U.S.C.
  • Perform detailed and specialized legal research including public records.
  • Examine case-related documents, e.g., financial statements, reports, inventories, invoices, and employee data, for the purpose of determining relevance to the case and legal sufficiency.
  • Conduct conferences with debtors and their attorneys to collect information, and to provide information relating to title 11 procedural and financial requirements.
  • Monitor the progress of pending cases and initiate action to ensure that legal pleadings, forms, reports, correspondence, and other documents are prepared and submitted within established deadlines. Keep appropriate staff members informed about the current status of cases.
  • Provide legal assistance and technical work involved in processing legal documents and storing and retrieving case information.
  • Perform a variety of administrative duties in support of attorneys and auditors.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
  • You may be required to complete a background investigation (i.e., public trust), including drug testing.
  • Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable
  • May require completion of one year probationary period
  • All Federal employees are required to have their Federal salary payments directly deposited into a financial institution of their choosing.
  • Resume and supporting documentation (See Required Documents Section).
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.

Qualifications

UPDATE TO LOCATIONS: NO POSITIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN ATLANTA, GA.


Experience and/or Education Requirement


In order to qualify, you must meet the minimum specialized experience or education requirements described below. Additionally, if you are applying to the San Juan location, please read the statement for San Juan candidates below.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience.

Minimum Experience Requirements

For the GS-09,

In order to qualify for the position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the federal government reviewing petitions and schedules for compliance with substantive and procedural requirements and technical accuracy and drafting motions, litigation papers, advisory opinions, routine judicial pleadings, and/or legal findings.

For the GS-11,

In order to qualify for the position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the federal government reviewing petitions and schedules for compliance with substantive and procedural requirements and technical accuracy; drafting motions, litigation papers, advisory opinions, routine judicial pleadings, and/or legal findings; and assisting with trustee oversight to include reviewing Trustee final reports and distribution reports.


Minimum Education Requirements:

For the GS-09,

You must have completed a master's or equivalent degree OR two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education; OR a LL.B or J.D. in a related field.

For the GS-11,

You must have a Ph.D, or equivalent degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education; OR LL.M or J.D in law, paralegal studies,or a closely related field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of a Paralegal Specialist.

We may also consider a combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience to determine if you meet the total experience/education requirements.

Preferred Experience/Education

In addition to the required minimum specialized experience/education identified above, it is preferred and desired that you have a bachelor's degree or paralegal certificate; and/or excellent organizational skills; attention to detail; ability to draft and proofread pleadings and documents and providing litigation support; experience in collecting information and documents necessary for preparing schedules; experience in preparing petitions and/or proofs of claim; calculating means test; and litigation support or adversary proceedings, reviewing plans for ability to pay, negotiating reaffirmation agreements; and complying with laws and procedures, and processing legal documents.

Applicants must meet all required qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Additionally, in order to be rated as meeting the minimum qualifications, we must be able to determine from your application package that you have the education and/or specialized or general experience that is required. Applicants who have qualifying experience performed on less than a full-time basis must specify the percentage and length of time spent in performance of such duties.

FOR CANDIDATES APPLYING TO THE SAN JUAN LOCATION:

Candidates who apply to the San Juan location should be bilingual and annotate in their resume "bilingual speaking."


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 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 https://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. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Veteran Preference: If you are entitled to or claim veteran preference (VP), you should indicate the type of veteran preference (5 or 10 points) you are claiming on your résumé. In order to determine your eligibility, you can find additional information at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/.

NOTE: To verify your veteran preference entitlement, please submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214(Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty; or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that shows your military service was performed under honorable conditions. (1) If you are claiming 10-point preference, you must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reserves side of the SF-15, Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference. (2) If you are claiming 10-point DERIVED PREFERENCE as a relative you must submit Member Copy of the veteran's DD-214, and an SF-15, Application for 10-point veteran preference" in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reverse side of this form. If you fail to do so, you will receive consideration as a non-veteran.

DOJ EEO Statement/Policy: http://www.justice.gov/jmd/eeos/08-eeo-policy.pdf

Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes to resume@benderconsult.com, and reference "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information is found at: www.benderconsult.com.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements, your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.

Click here to view the Questionnaire Questions associated with this position:

These are the Competencies associated with this position:

  • Technical Competence
  • Operating Systems
  • Attention to Detail
  • Written & Oral Communication
Please Note: The Selecting Official may select additional candidates if more positions become available within 90 days after the HR office issues the selection certificate.

Certificates (referral lists) generated for these positions may be shared across multiple USTP geographic locations. Upon applying to this position, you will be given the opportunity to select which locations you are interested in applying.

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