Legal Administrative Specialist

This position is located in the Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary (OST), Office of Hearings (OH). The DOT’s Office of Hearings provides formal (i.e., “on the record”) administrative adjudication services for the public and the DOT modes pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), codified in 5 U.S.C. 551 et. seq.


 

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you MUST meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-09, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-08 grade level in the following:

• Experience performing legal research using Westlaw and Lexis Nexis; writing informal legal memos, briefs, orders and/or other legal documents; and using The Bluebook to precisely cite to legal authorities and to proofread and edit legal documents.
• Experience utilizing a variety of computer databases and programs to: create, organize, and track office records, reports, and receipts; order supplies; arrange travel; and solve administrative and confidential problems with minimal supervision.

To qualify for the GS-09 on Education alone, you must have:

• A Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree 
• A LL.B. or J.D., if related 

You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience.  This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.  

To qualify for the GS-11, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the following:

• Experience independently performing legal research using Westlaw and Lexis Nexis; independently writing formal legal memos, briefs, orders and/or other legal documents; and using The Bluebook to precisely cite to legal authorities and to proofread and edit legal documents.

• Experience utilizing variety of computer databases and programs to: create, organize, improve, and track management programs (including personnel data), office records, and reports; manage and report on various finance, budget and receipts records; order supplies; arrange travel; and creatively solve administrative and confidential problems without supervision.

To qualify for the GS-11 on Education alone, you must have:

• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree
• 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree
• A LL.M., if related

You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience.  This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.  

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. General Civil Law- Knowledge of civil litigation process and Federal laws, regulations, rules, procedures, and practices related to civil litigation, and ability to provide to critical litigation support services for judicial and attorney work.

2. Paralegal – Ability to provide legal assistance to attorneys, including filing, service, and record maintenance, as well as accurate and precise legal research, writing and Blue-book editing within litigation deadlines.

3. Office Administration - Creates, organizes, maintains, reports on, and tracks wide variety of office administrative data, reports, and receipts, orders and maintains supplies, books, and other materials, arranges travel, sets priorities and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

For all types of consideration, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.