Legal Assistant (Office Automation)

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys•Seattle, WA

About The Position

This position is for a Legal Assistant in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Western District of Washington. The role involves serving as the Grand Jury Coordinator and directly supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) with complex grand jury actions and matters. Responsibilities will increase in complexity as training and experience progress.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication (fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing).
Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
May be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
Must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.
GS-7: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in Federal service. Specialized experience includes: providing trial support to attorneys by preparing complaints, motions, subpoenas, orders, or other hearing and/or trial documents accurately and in proper format; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; assisting with discovery, hearing or trial preparation by performing duties such as compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and using software applications and legal and non-legal databases to produce legal related reports and documents, conduct factual research, develop tables of contents and indices to briefs, and prepare courtroom presentations.
GS-8: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in federal service. Specialized experience includes: preparing and processing a variety of technical legal correspondence and documents which are characteristically voluminous and complex in format (e.g. pleadings, stipulations, motions, briefs, affidavits, complaints, orders, subpoenas, and other legal documents); obtaining information from files, law enforcement agencies, or other sources; conducting factual and legal research in legal and non-legal databases and providing requested information to attorneys; aiding in the preparation and organization of evidence for production as discovery and for use in trial; managing paper and electronic discovery and evidence; independently compiling trial notebooks, assembling jury instructions, and compiling witness and exhibit lists; and coding and indexing discovery documents using legal case management software.
Must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5-minute sample with three or fewer errors (a typing test may later be required).

Nice To Haves

Eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees may receive selection priority if they meet ICTAP eligibility criteria.
Eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice may receive selection priority if they meet CTAP eligibility criteria.
Eligible veterans may apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures if they meet VEOA criteria.
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 potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments.

Responsibilities

Independently researching and following the laws and specialized rules regarding grand jury proceedings and impanelment.
Reviewing cases to determine factual issues that may impact grand jury activities.
Protecting grand jury records and keeping files secure from public disclosure.
Making substantive processing determinations or initiating other actions based on an analysis of the situation or circumstances of the proceedings.
Acting as authoritative liaison with other agencies regarding grand jury matters.
Performing extensive searches of records, reference and/or historical material.
Independently researching, evaluating, and coordinating information to establish the facts and issues of specific litigation cases.
Transcribing, preparing and distributing both complex confidential legal correspondence, reports and other documents.
Assisting in editing and compiling data for grand jury reports.
Supervising the secure reproduction and distribution of reports.
Preparing trial exhibits such as statistical charts, graphs, and timelines to be presented in court.
Coding and indexing discovery documents using legal case management software.