The FTC's Honors Paralegal Program has attracted motivated and dedicated individuals from across the country. Honors Paralegals work on competition or consumer protection investigations with staff attorneys, economists and financial analysts, and have the opportunity to work on a case from the initial stages of an investigation through litigation in federal and administrative courts. The FTC considers its Honors Paralegal Program to be an unqualified success, allowing the agency to spread its resources more broadly and efficiently. Those who have participated in the program have found it to be a rewarding opportunity to learn about a career in law, economics, and public policy. The distinguished group of Honors Paralegal alumni have gone on to attend graduate programs and start careers in public policy, law, and business, among others.
Summary
The FTC's Honors Paralegal Program has attracted motivated and dedicated individuals from across the country. Honors Paralegals work on competition or consumer protection investigations with staff attorneys, economists and financial analysts, and have the opportunity to work on a case from the initial stages of an investigation through litigation in federal and administrative courts. The FTC considers its Honors Paralegal Program to be an unqualified success, allowing the agency to spread its resources more broadly and efficiently. Those who have participated in the program have found it to be a rewarding opportunity to learn about a career in law, economics, and public policy. The distinguished group of Honors Paralegal alumni have gone on to attend graduate programs and start careers in public policy, law, and business, among others.
Paralegals have the opportunity to become familiar with the methodology used by attorneys in the FTC during the course of various investigations and litigation. Specifically, Paralegals will be expected to perform the following duties:
Performs research using section or attorney files, library references files, corporate records, private and governmental studies, legal research databases, and other pertinent sources, to supply factual information for inclusion in memoranda, briefs, and similar documents.
Analyzes pre-merger notifications or materials received in investigations or litigation; advise legal staff of activity that may affect the investigation or litigation.
Conducts independent research projects and synthesizes this information and/or data into reports or internal memoranda.
Performs preliminary screening of substantive material, prior to review by attorneys, separating the material into categories of importance.
Reviews and analyzes numerous case-related documents, often identifying key evidence cited in memoranda and used during investigational hearings, depositions and/or trial.
Digests substantive materials or transcripts of testimony from investigational hearings and/or depositions; indexes documents in accordance with legal categories determined by the attorney to whom assigned.
Acts as a liaison to outside organizations, including parties under investigation, third-parties, experts and witnesses.
Leads interviews with third-party executives or relevant witnesses; assists in the development of questions for interviews, investigational hearings, and depositions; drafts summaries and potential witness statements from information gathered.
Participates actively in internal discussions; aid in decision-making and address questions from other team members in a prompt and professional manner.
Writes interview reports, drafts notices, stipulations and other routine orders in substitution of attorneys; prepares table of contents, indexes and table of authorities (for legal briefs), memoranda and other such documents; reviews and researches citations, footnotes, textual references and other entries for accuracy.
Drafts case decisions (with supervision of attorney), summarizing significant findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Contributes to writing substantive portions of memoranda sent to Commissioners to determine potential need for further investigation or other necessary action and briefs filed in court.
Establishes and maintains a network folder structure and pertinent logs and calendars containing matter files (exhibits, notes, productions, correspondence, transcripts, pleadings, etc.) and deadlines.
Coordinates various support services as required by attorneys assigned to a case, (i.e., requesting court reporters, shipping materials, coordinating with litigation support staff, etc.)
Assists in court proceedings, traveling to trial site (when necessary), investigational hearings, depositions, etc., in support of attorneys and case team during investigation and/or litigation.
Assists attorneys during trial by preparing and transporting exhibits and other related materials; uses laptop to present exhibits and slideshows in court.
You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
This position is included in the bargaining unit.
Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with the Selective Service.
All applicants must apply through USAJOBS.gov
Qualifications
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade in the Federal service, which has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. At the GS-09 level, applicants must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal Service OR; have completed a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.B. or J.D., if related. 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, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year Specialized experience is defined as experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. The successful candidate may have experience performing the following: analyzing pre-merger notifications or materials received in investigations or litigation, advising legal staff of activity that may affect the investigation or litigation; utilizing a variety of eDiscovery databases (i.e. CaseMap, TextMap, Zylab, Concordance, TrialDirector, etc.); drafting case decisions; leading interviews with third-party executives or relevant witnesses; assisting in the development of questions for interviews, investigational hearings, and depositions; drafting summaries and potential witness statements from information gathered.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume or application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume or application must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume or application contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of two categories: Best Qualified or Qualified, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the position. If your resume does not support the specialized experience or if your application does not support your answers to the Vacancy Specific Questions, your final rating may be modified and you may be disqualified from consideration. The Human Resources Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating. Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. To preview questions please click here.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
To help you ensure your application fully outlines your qualifications and eligibility for this position, please submit the following documentation as appropriate. Some of the items listed may not apply to you.
APPLICATION PACKAGE CHECKLIST
The following information is required of all applicants:
__ Announcement number, title, and grade(s) of the position
__ Full name, mailing address (including zip code) and day and evening phone numbers (with area code)
__ Social security number
__ Statement that you are a U.S. citizen
__ Cover letter
__ Sole authored writing sample (maximum of 5 pages)
__ Copy of DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) (only if claiming veteran's preference)
__ SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veteran's Preference) plus the support documentation required by this form (if claiming 10-point veteran's preference)
__ Paid and non-paid work experience related to the position. For each period of Work experience include:
Job title
Series/grade (if Federal employment)
Duties and accomplishments
Employer's name and address
Supervisor's name and contact information
Starting and ending dates of employment (month/day/year)
Number of hours worked per week
Salary
Indicate if we may contact current supervisor/employer
Other job related information, such as training courses (title & year); skills (e.g., other languages, computer software/hardware, tools, etc.)
Certificates/licenses (current)
Honors, awards, and special accomplishments
___A Legible copy of college transcripts (if qualifying all or in part on the basis of Education for this position)
___Support documentation for eligibility for special hiring authorities, such as disability, Peace Corps service, etc.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Individuals applying for this announcement are required to complete and submit an online application through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) application system, USAJOBS. The information you provide in USAJOBS is general information completed by all candidates. That information and your resume will become part of your application and will automatically be transferred to FT-SEE when you apply online. The submission of anything other than the below online application will result in you not being considered for this job. If applying online poses a hardship to any applicant, please contact us. Applicants must contact us at 202-326-2021 prior to the closing date to speak to someone who can provide assistance for online submission. Requests for extensions will not be granted.
There are several parts of the application process that will affect your overall evaluation:
1. Your online resume (See Step 1 below).
2. Your responses to the eligibility questions.
3. Your responses to the vacancy specific self-assessment questions.
4. Submission of supporting documentation (See instructions under the "Required Documentation" section of this posting. You have until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement to complete the following four-step application process:
STEP 1: To apply, you must first register on USAJOBS at www.usajobs.opm.gov and have at least one resume associated with your account. Your online resume must be built using the USAJOBS resume builder or you can upload an existing resume from your computer. You must submit a resume to be considered for this position. Once you have completed the registration process, thoroughly review this vacancy announcement and then select the "Apply Online" button and follow the instructions provided.
STEP 2: After selecting a resume to submit with your application package, you will be taken to FT-SEE to answer questions related to your experience and vacancy specific questions. The answers to the questions are necessary to evaluate your qualifications for the specific job to which you are applying. When completed, the information you provided through USAJOBS and the answers to the FT-SEE questions will become your application.
STEP 3: Review your resume to make certain that it supports your responses to the questions. Once you submit your online application, you will see a screen telling you that your application has been successfully transmitted. If you do not receive this confirmation, you have not successfully completed your application.
STEP 4: Submit Supporting Documentation, as necessary. NOTE: Paper applications and information sent by mail WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
To help you ensure your application fully outlines your qualifications and eligibility for this position, please submit the following documentation as appropriate. Some of the items listed may not apply to you.
APPLICATION PACKAGE CHECKLIST
The following information is required of all applicants:
__ Announcement number, title, and grade(s) of the position
__ Full name, mailing address (including zip code) and day and evening phone numbers (with area code)
__ Social security number
__ Statement that you are a U.S. citizen
__ Cover letter
__ Sole authored writing sample (maximum of 5 pages)
__ Copy of DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) (only if claiming veteran's preference)
__ SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veteran's Preference) plus the support documentation required by this form (if claiming 10-point veteran's preference)
__ Paid and non-paid work experience related to the position. For each period of Work experience include:
Job title
Series/grade (if Federal employment)
Duties and accomplishments
Employer's name and address
Supervisor's name and contact information
Starting and ending dates of employment (month/day/year)
Number of hours worked per week
Salary
Indicate if we may contact current supervisor/employer
Other job related information, such as training courses (title & year); skills (e.g., other languages, computer software/hardware, tools, etc.)
Certificates/licenses (current)
Honors, awards, and special accomplishments
___A Legible copy of college transcripts (if qualifying all or in part on the basis of Education for this position)
___Support documentation for eligibility for special hiring authorities, such as disability, Peace Corps service, etc.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Individuals applying for this announcement are required to complete and submit an online application through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) application system, USAJOBS. The information you provide in USAJOBS is general information completed by all candidates. That information and your resume will become part of your application and will automatically be transferred to FT-SEE when you apply online. The submission of anything other than the below online application will result in you not being considered for this job. If applying online poses a hardship to any applicant, please contact us. Applicants must contact us at 202-326-2021 prior to the closing date to speak to someone who can provide assistance for online submission. Requests for extensions will not be granted.
There are several parts of the application process that will affect your overall evaluation:
1. Your online resume (See Step 1 below).
2. Your responses to the eligibility questions.
3. Your responses to the vacancy specific self-assessment questions.
4. Submission of supporting documentation (See instructions under the "Required Documentation" section of this posting. You have until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement to complete the following four-step application process:
STEP 1: To apply, you must first register on USAJOBS at www.usajobs.opm.gov and have at least one resume associated with your account. Your online resume must be built using the USAJOBS resume builder or you can upload an existing resume from your computer. You must submit a resume to be considered for this position. Once you have completed the registration process, thoroughly review this vacancy announcement and then select the "Apply Online" button and follow the instructions provided.
STEP 2: After selecting a resume to submit with your application package, you will be taken to FT-SEE to answer questions related to your experience and vacancy specific questions. The answers to the questions are necessary to evaluate your qualifications for the specific job to which you are applying. When completed, the information you provided through USAJOBS and the answers to the FT-SEE questions will become your application.
STEP 3: Review your resume to make certain that it supports your responses to the questions. Once you submit your online application, you will see a screen telling you that your application has been successfully transmitted. If you do not receive this confirmation, you have not successfully completed your application.
STEP 4: Submit Supporting Documentation, as necessary. NOTE: Paper applications and information sent by mail WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.