Legal Administrative Specialist (Recent Graduates)

About the role

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit here. This is an excepted service appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduates Program. This appointment is a one year career development program.

At the successful completion of the program requirements, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional appointment. For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit here.

What you will do

• This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until 9/30/2026.
• Eligible applications will be referred at 30 day intervals.
• If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing legal and litigative support to the Administrative Division for the District of Maine.
• Typical work assignments will include: Review and organize complex factual material and other documentary data for investigations and trials.
• Prepare a variety of substantive legal documents to include extradition requests, grand jury and trial subpoenas, interrogatory requests, and documentation relevant to acquiring evidence or testimony.
• Provide advice on the most efficient method for preparing legal documents.
• Use tables and citation checking with efficiency.
• Develop and enter various case material into a computer database.
• Prepare charts, graphs, and tables to illustrate results.
• Prepare, develop, compile, or maintain jury instructions in preparing for trial.
• Prepare exhibits for trial, which typically involve a wide range of visual materials.
• Provide litigation case management and organize cases for court presentation.
• Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
• Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications.

For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see *** Foreign Education Note: You may use foreign education to meet qualification requirements if you send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency in with your transcript.

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 *** All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

How you will be evaluated

Your complete application package (resume/supporting documentation, online questionnaire, and USA Hire Competency Based Assessment) will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online questionnaire.

If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements, you may be referred to the selecting official or if Veterans' Preference must be adjudicated, your application will be placed in one of three grouping categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified.

Within each of these groupings, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. All CP/CPS preference eligibles that meet minimum qualification and eligibility requirements will be included in the "Best Qualified" grouping.

You will be rated on the following Competencies: Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, and Teamwork Go to Appendix F of the Delegated Examining Operations Handbook for the definition of each competency.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Documents you must provide

• You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes: - Required: Required - Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process). - Required: Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - see USAJOBS for formatting requirements.
• Include relevant employment history as outlined below for each job: Official position title (if Federal, include series/grade), Employer name and contact information, Start and end dates (for full consideration you must include month, day, and year), Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and A list of duties performed and accomplishments.
• 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. - Required: Unofficial transcript or proof of accredited degree/certificate showing award date.
• (Note: If you are selected for this position, an official transcript/certificate will be required prior to your first day.) Required, if applicable: Veterans' Preference documentation.
• (See required documentation below.) Please note, if you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the required documentation as specified below. - Required Veterans' Preference Documentation: In order to verify your Veterans' Preference entitlement, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); or if you are a current Active Duty member you must submit a certification on appropriate military branch letterhead that indicates: ) your service dates, 2) expected discharge or release date from active duty with a release/discharge date no later than 120 days from the closing date of this announcement, and 3) the character of service (e.g., Honorable); In addition, if you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, or widow/widower if a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," dated October 2013 and the required documentation identified on the reverse side of the SF-15 to support your preference claim.
• If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you must submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found at: *** - Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.
• If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title; Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee); Agency; and Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

What to expect next

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement.

You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

Additional information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Veterans' Preference: If you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the documentation as specified in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.

See *** Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly.

Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

More information can be found here: *** Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.

If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.

Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.