The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is unique in the size and the scope of its work. It serves as both the local and the federal prosecutor for the nation's capital. On the local side, AUSAs assigned to the Superior Court Division prosecute cases ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. On the federal side, AUSAs assigned to the Criminal Division prosecute federal crimes. The Civil Division further defends the United States in civil suits brought in the District of Columbia.
To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 federal level, or Master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field (such as an LL.B or J.D.) or a combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7 level work. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the competencies needed to perform the job duties. Specialized experience requires the knowledge of the litigation process, federal and local court rules and court procedures to perform the assignments. Examples of such experience are: providing attorneys legal, administrative, and technical support for investigations and prosecutions; conducting legal and factual research; preparing evidence and exhibits; drafting legal documents for review, including motions, search warrants, arrest warrants, and documentation relevant to other actions related to the acquisition of evidence and/or testimony for criminal investigations; preparing grand jury and trial subpoenas, attachments to subpoenas and other technical documents; providing in-courtroom presentation of exhibits and trial support; interacting with internal and external law enforcement partners and court personnel; maintaining and performing tasks using legal databases and software systems. OR Education: One of the following types of education in a related field: Master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B or J.D.); or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university. OR Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. . In order to qualify based on a combination, a combination of specialized experience and graduate-level education as described above, which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours then divide the total number of your graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study). To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement. Special Employment Consideration - 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 examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Types-of-Appointments
If selected for a position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for performing a variety of complex paralegal assignments in the Criminal Division U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia (USAO-DC) Criminal Division. The candidate(s) will be assigned to one of the following sections. The candidate should include a cover letter indicating a preference for a particular section(s). The Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Unit ("CEHT") handles investigations and prosecutions of federal sex offenses, such as the production, distribution, and receipt of child pornography. CEHT also prosecutes human trafficking offenses, including sex trafficking of minors and adults. The mission of the Federal Major Crimes Section ("FMC") handles a wide variety of cases, including but not limited to: (1) firearms offenses, (2) narcotics offenses, (3) kidnappings and carjackings, (4) Hobbs Act robberies, (5) bank robberies, (6) frauds, (7) interstate threats and threats against public officials, (8) immigration and passport/visa offenses, and (9) other similar offenses. The Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section ("FPCCR") prosecutes white-collar offenses, such as frauds on government agencies, including health-care fraud, tax fraud, and frauds on COVID-19 relief programs; frauds targeting businesses, non-profits, and social institutions, whether by insiders or outsiders, including business email compromise schemes; foreign corrupt practices; money laundering networks perpetrating frauds against financial institutions and online through cryptocurrencies; and cyber-enabled frauds (such as malware and carding forums) and crimes (such as hacking/intrusion). It also prosecutes public corruption offenses, such as bribery of local and federal officials; willful conflicts of interest; theft of government funds; election crimes; and efforts to obstruct or interfere with the lawful functioning of Congress, the Judiciary, and Executive Branch. The Unit is equally committed to prosecuting civil rights offenses, such as crimes based on protected characteristics, including race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability; excessive force by law enforcement; and other color-of-law violations. The Violent Crimes and Narcotics Trafficking Offenses ("VCNT") Unit places an emphasis on proactive, intelligence-driven, long- and medium-term criminal investigations, and prosecutions focus on violent and armed crews and conspiracies, collective conduct, and repeat offenders. VCNT's prosecutions target everything from criminal street gangs to international syndicates and span a broad range of subjects and statutes, from firearms and narcotics conspiracies, interstate robbery conspiracies, and RICO and VICAR prosecutions, to darknet drug trafficking and money laundering, Continuing Criminal Enterprises, and Title III wiretap investigations. Typical work assignments will include: - Provides direct paralegal assistance to attorneys handling sensitive matters in support of the mission and function of the Criminal Division. - Conducts legal and factual research and analysis. - Provides litigation case management support, i.e., monitoring and managing discovery. - Provides in-courtroom presentation of exhibits and trial support. - Prepares and files investigative legal process, including subpoenas, search warrants, and non-disclosure orders. - Prepares exhibits for trial, which typically involve a wide range of visual materials including charts, diagrams, photographs, and models. - Participates in interviews with agents and potential witnesses to assist Attorneys in preparation for grand jury or trial. - Daily interaction with internal and external law enforcement partners and court personnel. - Maintains and performs tasks using legal databases and software systems. - Performing other related duties as assigned. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced to All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 25-DC-12752323-DE.