Legal Assistant (OA) Recent Graduate - Appellate Section

This is an excepted service appointment under the DOJ Pathways Recent Graduates Program for the Appellate Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. This Section is responsible for handling most Division cases in federal and state appellate courts and for preparing appeal recommendations. 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

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html After successfully completing one year under the Program, recent graduates MAY be converted to a term or permanent appointment if the following program requirements are met: 1) successful completion of at least 1 year of continuous service; 2) completion of at least 40 hours of formal interactive training; and 3) demonstration of successful job performance. A recent graduate converted to a term appointment may be subsequently converted non-competitively into a permanent competitive service position before the term expires.

You will join a well-respected team that is responsible for performing a wide range of administrative and legal support tasks. Your duties will include:

• Reviewing and analyzing case materials to become familiar with the case or matter
• Using word processing software including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat to create, edit, and format documents and correspondence, producing work that is accurate and complete.
• Preparing correspondence and administrative forms using proper format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Conveying information to staff and other parties in a clear and convincing manner.
• Facilitating the exchange of information between legal support staff, paralegals, and attorneys.
• Conducting research using computer systems (including Westlaw, Lexis, Relativity, and Everlaw) and collect and sort the information into logical and clear formats.
• Reviewing and accurately assembling large volumes of documents for use in litigation using on-line document review software and Adobe Acrobat.
• Organizing and maintaining electronic files and legal or other reference materials.
• Performing data entry in databases and tracking case deadlines.
• Arranging travel reservations, preparing and completing necessary travel authorizations and vouchers, and coordinating with appropriate offices to ensure prompt payment.
• Monitoring and updating information entered into the Division's payroll software system.

Recent Graduates are on a trial period for the duration of the program. An Individual Development Plan (IDP) must be completed and approved by the supervisor within 45 days of appointment and a mentor must be assigned within 90 days of appointment. To be eligible for this Recent Graduate program, one of the following requirements must be met:

1. Recent graduates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution; or must have completed a qualifying career or technical education program with or without a formal degree in a Registered Apprentice Program, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, or Peace Corps.
2. You must have completed your degree, certificate, or program on or before the end of the 2026 Spring semester. If you graduated or completed an education program prior to JUNE 2024, you will not be eligible for this position.
3. Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply.

To qualify for the Legal Assistant (Recent Graduate) GS-5, applicants must have one of the following:

A. One year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-4 Federal grade level applying standardized rules, processes, and procedures concerning commonly utilized general reference sources and legal research tools to perform legal support work. This experience include preparing correspondence and administrative forms using proper format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling; or

B. Successful completion of 4 years of education above the high school level for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. The degree must be within a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university; or C. A combination of specialized experience described in letter A above and qualifying post high school education described in letter B above. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours beyond the second year) is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.

Typing Requirement: This position requires a qualified typist with a minimum typing speed of 40 words per minute. If you do not self certify on the occupational/assessment questionnaire that you have the required typing proficiency, you will be rated ineligible for this position.

This position requires office automation skills. Some examples of office automation skills include database management and various word processing software packages (MS Office Suite: Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) and database applications.

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.

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.