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Paralegal Specialist (Criminal)

Department of Justice
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
US Attorney's Office, Western District of Oklahoma

Summary

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. If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will be set at Step 1 of the applicable grade.

This announcement has a required USAHIRE Assessment - please check your SPAM email.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/20/2026 to 04/27/2026
Salary
$74,678 - $97,087 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Oklahoma City, OK
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
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
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-WDOK-12941386-MS
Control number
865935500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Well-qualified surplus/displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) in the local area and current/former Federal employees in permanent competitive service positions (status candidates). VEOA eligibles and those eligible for non-competitive appointment under special hiring authority, e.g., Individuals with Disabilities, Military Spouses, former Overseas employees, VISTA/Peace Corps, some Land Management employees, and certain veterans, e.g., VRA, 30% Disabled. See link in "How to Apply".

Duties

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The duties and responsibilities for a GS-0950-11, Paralegal Specialist generally include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Review and organize complex factual material and other documentary data for investigations and trials.
  • Provide advice on the most efficient method for preparing legal documents.
  • Use tables and citation checking with efficiency.
  • Prepare a variety of substantive legal documents to include complaints, indictments, motions, jury instructions, and trial and appellate briefs.
  • Develop and enter various case material into a computer database.
  • Prepare charts, graphs, and tables to illustrate results.
  • Prepare exhibits for trial which typically involve a wide range of visual materials.
  • Provide litigation case management and organize cases for court presentation.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen or National.
  • You may be required to complete a probationary or trial period. See "Additional Information" for specific details.
  • Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31st 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
  • A USA Hire assessment is required. An email will be sent with additional information after you submit your application. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement to complete the assessment.
  • Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
  • 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 meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

Note: In order to be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure that your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience that you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly detailed in your resume, you will not be considered for this position.

GS-11: To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a combination of Education and Experience.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized Experience is defined as experience performing a variety of analytical paralegal or legal work which demonstrates a practical knowledge of law, the litigation and judicial process, and applicable rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Examples of specialized experiences may include the following: conducting factual and legal research and formalizing opinions; searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel; drafting a variety of legal documents including complaints, indictments, motions, and briefs; organizing and indexing evidence and discovery materials; and preparing exhibits and discovery for trial.

Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law): a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

Combining Education and Experience: A combination of experience and graduate level education can be used if, when combined, are equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirement. Only graduate level education in excess of the first two years can be used in this calculation. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate level hours that exceed 36 semester hours (or your school's definition of two years 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 specialized experience, divide the 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%.

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

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements, please see the statements below.

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 http://www.ed.gov, Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, in order for it to be creditable towards your qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from an accredited institution.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. If you are qualifying on foreign education, you MUST submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Transcripts must be uploaded with your application to verify education. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

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. See http://www.sss.gov/.

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.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline.

Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Your USAHIRE assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

Additionally, we will review your supporting documents and resume to determine if you are in the "Area of Consideration" for this vacancy. Government-Wide Merit Promotion vacancies may only accept applications from a limited audience, pay careful attention to the "Who May Apply" and the "Hiring Paths" information. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

If you would like to preview the application questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12941386.

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys

If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! With a diverse and talented workforce of over 100,000 men and women, Justice leads the Nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. You will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal and civil laws that protect life, liberty, and the property of citizens.

Our mission is to protect and serve the citizens of the Western District of Oklahoma through the ethical, vigorous, fair, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States. In doing so, we are committed to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and integrity as we strive to defend the national security, protect our citizens, safeguard public funds, improve the safety and quality of life in our communities, and defend the vital interests of the United States.

The Western District of Oklahoma covers 40 counties from central to western Oklahoma. The office is located in downtown Oklahoma City, which boasts an ever-growing number of attractions. In addition to a vibrant, local food scene and nationally acclaimed museums, the city is home to the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, the Comets baseball team, and an OKC soccer club. Residents enjoy four distinct weather seasons and a moderate cost of living. The federal government employs a large number of federal workers at Tinker Air Force Base and the FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center.

Agency contact information

Gina Penny
Phone
4055538700
Email
gina.penny@usdoj.gov
Address
Western District of Oklahoma
210 Park Avenue
Suite 400
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/usao-wdok

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