Legal Administrative Specialist - Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
There is no substitution of education for experience at this grade level.
The incumbent of this position will join a team of highly respected professional staff in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section. As a Legal Administrative Specialist, you will perform the following duties:- Review Notices of Intent, Complaints and other legal documents to extract information and accurately complete data fields in the Case Management System (CMS).
- Use word processing, database, and spreadsheet computer software programs to track case-related information.
- Update case status in CMS and terminate cases based on supporting legal documentation.
- Create databases; enter and oversee the entry of information, development of reports, sort, and search techniques in the database.
- Coordinate with the litigation support staff in organizing and indexing documents and in microfilming the documents during discovery in cases,
- Ensure accurate and timely submission of Judgment Fund Payments using the Judgment Fund Internet Claims System (JFICS).
- Develop and research legal information. With the assistance of attorneys, conduct research of issues of defined scope and complexity in connection with legal and legislative functions.
- Utilize various sources of legal references, such as books, records, maps, treaties, accounting records, and other legal documents.
- Locate discovery information by searching interrogatories, depositions, government documents, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions.
- Independently prepare exhibits which may include charts, graphs, reports, photos, etc.
- Prepare, analyze, and process legal documents. Prepare summaries of testimony (which require a knowledge of the legal issues and the procedural aspects of the law involved) and provide basic conclusions on factual aspects of cases for attorney review.
- Draft legal documents (e.g., subpoenas, interrogatories, complaints, and pleadings) for review by attorneys and paralegals.
- Perform timely filing to ensure that all court deadlines are met, all document components are complete, all parties are properly served, and all requirements of the court district are satisfied.
- Prepare detailed reports of legal activities, analyzing data to report on trends.
- Load case documents onto Westlaw for full-text searching.
To qualify for this position at GS-9, you must have one of the following:
A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level or above or (1) reviewing legal documents that initiate and conclude cases in litigation; and (2) working with complex databases, recording all required information into the database, and interpreting and reviewing the data to assure its accuracy and completeness; or
B. A master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education, or LL.B or J.D. Such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position; or
C. A combination of graduate education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation).
Experience refers to 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 skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Time in Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements (one year at the next lower grade) by the closing date of announcement.
YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement if you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements. Please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.
Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
To preview questions, please click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12977476.
