The Department of Justice, Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes complex criminal matters and assists the United States Attorney's Offices in investigations, trials, and appeals. This posting is for open Paralegal Specialist positions within various sections of the Criminal Division.
Summary
The Department of Justice, Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes complex criminal matters and assists the United States Attorney's Offices in investigations, trials, and appeals. This posting is for open Paralegal Specialist positions within various sections of the Criminal Division.
Open to Status Candidates, to include current or former competitive service employees; Veterans to include those eligible under VRA, VEOA, or the 30% compensable authority; Individuals with Disabilities; and other individuals eligible for non-competitive appointment.
This vacancy includes a Selective Placement Factor. Please see Qualifications for more information.
As a Paralegal Specialist, you may perform duties such as:
Assisting at all levels in the development of criminal litigation or appeals, beginning at the investigation level, to filing pleadings with the court.
Assisting attorneys by preparing filings and exhibits for trials or appeals.
Organizing case documents, conducting first-level document review, and coordinating document productions.
Proofreading and cite-checking legal briefs, memoranda, and other documents, and ensuring accordance with Bluebook and/or other citation and style requirements for legal writing.
Conducting various document searches using document management databases such as Relativity.
Producing work products that are well written, clear, and free of errors.
Preparing for interviews, depositions, hearings, and appeals.
Conducting extensive and thorough research in a variety of legal and non-legal databases and providing information in response to a wide range of questions.
Preparing and organizing evidence, discovery and trial exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs, and maps, to be presented in court.
You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
You must complete the online questionnaire and additional assessment(s).
You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
You must meet status eligibility for this announcement.
Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
A one-year probationary period may be required.
The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program. E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
Qualifications
To qualify at the GS-09 level, applicants must demonstrate one of the qualifications as listed below:
Have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-07 level. This experience must include duties such as: conducting legal research; writing legal reports, to include summarizing factual information, legal issues, and case law relevant to a given case; and assisting with the preparation of exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs and maps to be presented in court; OR
Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree, LL.B, J.D., or equivalent degree that demonstrates the competencies needed to do the work of the position may be substituted for the experience required; OR
A combination of education and experience as listed above. Please note, only education in excess of one year of graduate education may be used in this calculation.
To qualify at the GS-11 level, applicants must demonstrate one of the qualifications as listed below:
Have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-09 grade level. This experience must include duties such as: independently conducting legal research for litigation or appeals; reviewing evidence such as subpoenas and witness binders for use during litigation or appeals; writing legal reports, to include summarizing factual information, legal issues and case law relevant to a given case; and preparing exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs and maps, to be presented in court; OR
Three years of progressively higher graduate education, leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
A combination of education and experience.
Selective Placement Factor: To qualify for this position at the GS-09/11 grade level, applicants must be proficient in English writing. Applicants' proficiency in (English) writing will be assessed through an online (USA Hire) writing assessment. Applicants who do not display a minimum level of proficiency on the USA Hire Writing Assessment will be ineligible for further consideration.
Combination of Education and Experience - Your current education completed is credited as a percentage of the education required for the grade level and your current experience is credited as a percentage of the total experience required for the grade level. The two percentages are added and must equal 100% in order to qualify for the desired grade level.
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.
Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.
Education
There is no education requirement for this position.
Additional information
ELIGIBILITY: You are eligible under merit promotion procedures, if you meet one of the following criteria:
Federal employees currently serving on career or career-conditional appointments in the competitive service;
Former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility based on previous career or career-conditional appointments in the competitive service. For more information see https://www.opm.gov/job-seekers/reinstatement/;
Displaced federal employees requesting special priority selection consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP);
Veterans with Veterans' Preference or veterans who have been separated under honorable conditions after three years or more of active continuous service (Veterans Employment Opportunities Act);
Any other individuals eligible for a non-competitive appointment, including former Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, Boren Scholars, Fulbright Scholars, military spouses, etc.
Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.
EEO Statement: 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. Additional information on DOJ's EEO policy can be found on our website.
Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
USA Hire Reasonable Accommodation (RA) 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 RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.
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.
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 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), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online assessment 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. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.
Performance Appraisals and Awards:
You will receive an additional point added to your final score for your most recent fully successful or higher performance rating. An additional point will also be added to your final score for any one performance award received within the past three years that relates to the position for which you are applying. Please provide only one recent award. To receive credit, you must provide a copy of your performance rating and a copy of your performance award SF-50, if applicable.
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.
You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF will undergo system conversion that may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors.
You must provide a complete application package which includes:
Resume (cover letter is optional) - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Your resume must be no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained in the first two pages, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
Unofficial Transcripts (if qualifying based on education)
SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applying as a status candidate with current or former federal service) which shows type of service appointment, tenure group, grade, and salary. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50 Form which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s over one year old).
Most Recent Performance Appraisal.
Any Relevant Performance Award (must attach SF-50)(if applicable).
Documentation of Eligibility for Special Hiring Authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - Please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. 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.
Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division 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 DOJ. Eligible Schedule A applicants can also submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC at crm.schedulea@usdoj.gov.
CTAP or ICTAP Documentation (if applicable) - If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP:
A copy of the agency notice (i.e., letter of intent, separation notice, or agency RIF letter);
Your most recent performance appraisal; and
Your most recent SF-50 showing your current/former position title and series, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
VEOA Eligibility Documentation (if applicable):
If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 Copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions. If you do not have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/veterans.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or parent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf) and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable, if you do not have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at https://www.va.gov/resources/getting-started-with-va/ or call 1-800-827-1000.
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.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 10/23/2026. The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 10/23/2026.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, 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 view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this link: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Human Resources team at CRM.RA@usdoj.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
After a review of your complete application package you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required you will be contacted. If a tentative job offer is made, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF will undergo system conversion that may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors.
You must provide a complete application package which includes:
Resume (cover letter is optional) - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Your resume must be no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained in the first two pages, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
Unofficial Transcripts (if qualifying based on education)
SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applying as a status candidate with current or former federal service) which shows type of service appointment, tenure group, grade, and salary. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50 Form which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s over one year old).
Most Recent Performance Appraisal.
Any Relevant Performance Award (must attach SF-50)(if applicable).
Documentation of Eligibility for Special Hiring Authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - Please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. 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.
Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division 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 DOJ. Eligible Schedule A applicants can also submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC at crm.schedulea@usdoj.gov.
CTAP or ICTAP Documentation (if applicable) - If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP:
A copy of the agency notice (i.e., letter of intent, separation notice, or agency RIF letter);
Your most recent performance appraisal; and
Your most recent SF-50 showing your current/former position title and series, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
VEOA Eligibility Documentation (if applicable):
If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 Copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions. If you do not have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/veterans.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or parent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf) and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable, if you do not have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at https://www.va.gov/resources/getting-started-with-va/ or call 1-800-827-1000.
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.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 10/23/2026. The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 10/23/2026.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, 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 view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this link: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Human Resources team at CRM.RA@usdoj.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
After a review of your complete application package you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required you will be contacted. If a tentative job offer is made, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
