Job Title: Paralegal Specialist, CG-0950-11

Duties

• Analyzes legal cases and documents, statutes, regulations, and other legal sources for precedential or analogous information and/or argument.
• Reviews citations to a variety of legal authorities and confirms whether the cited authority supports the stated proposition; conforms often complex legal citations to Bluebook system of citation and court rules; locates and retrieves copies of cited cases and other legal authorities (routine and extraordinary) from various digital sources.
• Performs legal research of substantial variety and complexity in the Section's specialty area; researches multifaceted legal questions and presents conclusions and summaries of research in written memoranda and oral format.
• Proofreads their own work, as well as the work of others, and identify both substantive and non-substantive errors, create detailed and accurate charts, and accurately compile data from various sources.
• Develops and/or maintains workload tracking and evaluation systems and supporting data for pending matters; prepares evaluative analysis of data and/or statistical information about workload as requested.
• Assists in the development of strategies in connection with FDIC legal matters; develops solutions for knowledge transfer and management practices of the legal support function.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment
Registration with the Selective Service.
U.S. Citizenship is required.
Employment Conditions.
Completion of Financial Disclosure may be required.
Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) required.

Qualifications

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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 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. Additional qualifications information can be found here.
Specialized Experience: To qualify, applicants must have completed at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the grade 09 level or above in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing legal research and analysis, cite-checking, using computer systems to track information and run reports, handling and reviewing documents, and maintaining electronically stored information (ESI) through the use of software programs.
OR
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related.
OR
A qualifying combination of Specialized Experience and Education.
Applicants must have met the qualification requirements (including selective placement factors - if any) for this position within 30 calendar days of the closing date of this announcement.
Applicants eligible for ICTAP (Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program) must achieve a score of 85 "well qualified" for this position. For more information, Click Here.

Education
See requirements stated under QUALIFICATIONS.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill identical vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.
Selectee(s) for this position will be required to report to their duty station office two days per week.
If selected, you may be required to serve a probationary or trial period as applicable to appointment type.
To read about your rights and responsibilities as an applicant for Federal employment, click here.

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
In addition to the regular benefits offered by Federal agencies, the FDIC offers additional benefits to its employees. These benefits, some at minimal cost, are some of the best and most competitive in both the private and public sectors.
To find out more, click here.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your resume and the online assessment questionnaire will be reviewed, to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements outlined in this announcement. Therefore, it is imperative that your resume contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make the qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.
Your resume will also be evaluated to measure your responses to the assessment questions. If you rated yourself higher on the questionnaire than what is supported by your resume, your overall qualifications assessment may be adversely affected.
Top ranked candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further review and consideration.
The competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) you will be assessed on are listed below.

• Knowledge of systems of citation and of the legal principles, concepts and methodology of legal research and analysis.
• Skill in the use of a law library and automated legal research services such as Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis to perform legal research.
• Ability to apply knowledge of legal reference sources, computerized reference sources, court or administrative decisions and precedents, and commercial legal publications to perform legal research into the legislative history, cases, decisions and opinions that may be applicable.
• Ability to prepare legal opinions and summaries of analysis, legal documents, correspondence, memoranda and other related documents.
• Skill in locating, logging, indexing, filing and retrieving materials.
• Ability to plan, organize, and complete requests for information regarding legal matters within specified time limits, by formulating solutions. You do not need to respond separately to these KSAs. Your answers to the online questionnaire and resume will serve as responses to the KSAs.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
In addition to the regular benefits offered by Federal agencies, the FDIC offers additional benefits to its employees. These benefits, some at minimal cost, are some of the best and most competitive in both the private and public sectors.
To find out more, click here.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

If you are applying under any special hiring authority you MUST submit proof of eligibility with your application.
Failure to provide all of the required documentation as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible determination or may affect your consideration status. Please review the following to determine your eligibility and which document(s) is required to complete your application:

VETERANS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ACT (VEOA) ELIGIBLES AND SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITIES FOR VETERANS: If you are applying for consideration under VEOA and special hiring authorities for veterans, click here . You must submit documentation (e.g., DD-214, VA Letter, SF-15, etc.) to demonstrate veterans' eligibility.

SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: If you are applying for consideration under special appointing authorities for people with disabilities, you will be required to provide proof of disability documentation to specify that you are a person who (1) has a severe physical disability; (2) an intellectual disability; or (3) a psychiatric disability. The documentation does NOT need to detail your specific disability, medical history, or need for accommodation, however; the letter MUST clearly state that you are eligible for appointment under this authority and that your eligibility is based on a severe physical disability; an intellectual disability; or a psychiatric disability. THE DOCUMENTATION MUST HAVE BEEN OBTAINED FROM: (a). Licensed medical professionals; or (b). State or private vocational rehabilitation specialists; or (c). Any Government agency (e.g., VA, etc.) that issues or provides disability benefits. THE DOCUMENTATION MUST INCLUDE: a statement that you are eligible based on one of the following: severe physical disability, an intellectual disability, or a psychiatric disability. To view sample Schedule A proof of disability letters, click here , and for more information on this special appointing authority, click here . Please note that employees hired under this Schedule A hiring authority will be required to complete a Standard Form 256 to identify their disability status.

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ICTAP): If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee eligible for consideration under the ICTAP, you must submit proof of eligibility. For more information, click here .

CURRENT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES OR REINSTATEMENT ELIGIBLES WITH COMPETITIVE STATUS: A copy of your most recent SF Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action that shows: (1) permanent or career-conditional tenure (codes 1 or 2, in block 24), and (2) position occupied in the competitive service (code 1, in block 34). If reinstatement eligible, include your Career/Career conditional SF-50. To be considered as a non-competitive eligible candidate, the SF-50 must show the highest grade level or full performance level applicant has attained competitively on a permanent basis, and grade must be equivalent or higher than the grade for which applying.

NONCOMPETITIVE CONVERSION ELIGIBLES UNDER A PATHWAYS PROGRAM: If you are applying under this noncompetitive conversion authority, you must provide proof of program completion. A letter from your current agency certifying completion is acceptable documentation.

FDIC EMPLOYEES: If you want to be considered non-competitively include a copy of your SF-50. The SF-50 must show the highest grade level or full performance level applicant has attained competitively on a permanent basis, and grade must be equivalent or higher than the grade for which applying.

EDUCATION DOCUMENTS: This position has a positive education requirement. In order to be considered, you must submit a copy of your college transcript (an unofficial transcript is acceptable). Education must be from accredited institutions. For a listing of accredited educational institutions, click here . An official transcript will be required if you are selected. If you attended more than one university and need to send multiple transcripts, please upload/fax all transcripts as one document.
Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program. For more information, click here .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from .
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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To begin, click the "Apply" button and follow the prompts. If you haven't already, register and establish a USAJOBS account. After you register online, click the "Apply" button to complete the online assessment questionnaire, and submit all required documents. Please be sure to click "Submit Application" to complete the application process. You must apply online.
Applicants requesting an exception from the online process must contact the Human Resources Specialist or point of contact listed in this announcement prior to 12:00 noon local time on the closing date.
To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account and click on "Applications" tab. Click on the "Position Title," and then select "Update Application" or "Additional Application Information" to continue.
You have until 11:59 p.m. ET (Eastern Time) on the closing date of this announcement to complete the application process.
Please ensure you have completed the application process by verifying the status of your application on-line to reflect: "Received". Failure to complete the application process will result in an incomplete application and you will not be considered for the position.