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Paralegal Specialist

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Ames Research Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As a Paralegal Specialist with the Ames Research Center's Office of the General Counsel, you will provide support as patent paralegal to the intellectual property team and will provide paralegal support to attorneys in other practice areas such as ethics, employment, contracts, and agreements. You will work independently and proactively to, among other things, manage the patent docket, provide litigation support, and work multiple other actions across subject matter areas.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/12/2024 to 12/18/2024
Salary
$108,245 to - $140,713 per year

The salary shown reflects the 2024 rates of pay for GS employees.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Ames Research Ctr
Moffett Field, CA
Remote job
No
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
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
ARC-25-DE-12638672-JM
Control number
823603600

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Duties

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  • Support Intellectual Property Team attorneys with patent prosecution efforts before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  • Coordinate with attorneys, technology transfer program office, inventors and outside counsel to protect NASA’s inventions.
  • Manage IP Portfolio, including managing a docket of deadlines related to patent application filing, prosecution, issuance, post-grant and maintenance.
  • Perform data entry, data retrieval, and generate reports on IP databases, including patent docketing, document management, technology transfer, USPTO Patent Center, and iEdison.
  • Participate in providing direct legal services to clients on case and/or program assignments including reviews related to intellectual property, contracts, ethics, release of information, other agreement transactions and other legal service areas.
  • Support litigation, including interview witnesses, prepare case summary reports, participate in trial preparation, draft discovery requests and discovery responses, prepare and organizes trial exhibits, coordinate meetings and logistics.
  • Use legal databases such as Westlaw and Lexis for retrieving court cases and decisions, checking citations, finding library resources, and conducting legal and factual research and writing pertaining to labor/employment law, ethics, and contracts.
  • Assist attorneys in preparing memoranda, briefs, draft legal opinions, and/or written documents needed to deliver accurate, timely, and effective legal services.
  • Foster a culture of engagement, diversity, inclusiveness, excellence and innovation. Champion NASA's commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility to create an environment that promotes a commitment to safety, integrity, and teamwork.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • This position is open to U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
  • Position subject to pre-employment background investigation.
  • You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
  • This position may require a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

To qualify for GS-12, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level:

  • Providing patent secretarial support to patent attorneys in a law firm environment and for the full range of the domestic patent prosecution process;
  • Managing patent cases and files to ensure all United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) submission requirements are met by the requisite deadlines and patent records are complete.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.

NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA within the local commuting area(s) of the location(s) identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement.

If you have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must:
- Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position. The questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility.
- Be well qualified for this position to receive consideration. Candidates rated in the 'Best Qualified' category are considered well-qualified. Please see 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for more information.
- Submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP as indicated in 'Required Documents.'

For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap.

Reasonable Accommodation 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 here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

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 position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements listed in this vacancy announcement. To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. 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 your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies:

  • Information Management
  • Technical Competence
  • Legal Assistance
  • Paralegal
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Reading
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management (Achievement)
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

NASA considers 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Under NASA's category rating process, applicants will be assessed on the position competencies and placed in one of three categories identified and defined below:
  • Best Qualified Category - Applicants who demonstrate a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
  • Highly Qualified Category - Applicants who demonstrate a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
  • Qualified Category - Applicants who demonstrate the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Names of all qualified candidates in the Best Qualified category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration (unless a sufficient number of qualified veterans are found - in which case only those names will be initially certified ). Candidates within the Best Qualified category who are eligible for veteran preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

NASA will not ask you to disclose criminal history record information during the application process or before we make a conditional/tentative offer of employment. If you apply for this position and are selected, NASA will conduct a suitability/security background investigation after you accept a tentative job offer. If you feel you are asked to disclose your criminal history before you accept a tentative offer and wish to file a complaint within 30 days, please contact: Agency-FCCJ@NASA.gov.

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