Legal Assistant (Office Automation)

Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys•Charleston, WV

About The Position

The Legal Assistant serves with the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of West Virginia, supporting Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) with legal assistance and office support. At the full performance level, the position handles a range of technical legal-document and case-management tasks. Formal and/or on-the-job training is provided as needed, and responsibilities and assignment complexity increase as training and experience progress. The position is announced at GS-5, GS-6, and GS-7 levels.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship or nationality.
Meet the qualification requirements for the applicable grade level by the announcement closing date.
GS-5 qualification: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-4, four years of education above high school, or an allowable combination of experience and education. Specialized experience includes reviewing documents with legal implications for accuracy and completeness; typing and formatting correspondence and forms; maintaining file systems; and obtaining information from files or general reference sources.
GS-6 qualification: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-5, including reviewing legal documents for completeness of factual information; retrieving and assembling information for hearings or trials; researching legal sources; and using automated software to produce legal reports, documents, correspondence, and related materials.
GS-7 qualification: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-6, including preparing hearing or trial documents accurately and in proper format; verifying citations and statutory references; assisting with discovery, hearing, or trial preparation; and using software and legal or non-legal databases to produce documents, conduct factual research, develop brief tables of contents and indices, and prepare courtroom presentations.
For GS-7 qualification, type at least 40 words per minute on a five-minute sample with no more than three errors; a typing test may be required.
Initial appointment is conditioned on satisfactory pre-employment adjudication, including fingerprint, credit, and tax checks and drug testing; continued employment is subject to a favorable background investigation.
Register for Selective Service if applicable.
If selected, may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
Academic degrees and coursework used to meet education requirements must be from an appropriately accredited or pre-accredited institution; foreign education must be shown to be comparable to U.S. education, with required documentation and English translation.

Responsibilities

Examine, prepare, and process technical legal documents, including complaints, motions, orders, answers, pleadings, subpoenas, and libels.
Proofread and cite-check legal briefs, memoranda, and other legal documents for accuracy and compliance with legal standards.
Conduct non-complex research on litigation, statutes, regulations, and court cases to assist attorneys with trial preparation.
Assemble exhibits, affidavits, and other legal documents for court proceedings.
Organize and maintain files and records for disposition or transfer to a records depository.
Maintain calendars of assigned active cases and track filing, hearing, and trial dates to support timely case management.
Schedule conferences and interviews.
Arrange travel, including preparing itineraries and securing transportation and hotel reservations.
Produce written documents and materials using a wide range of office software applications.