Paralegal Specialist - Environmental Defense Section

About the role

This position is located in the Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Section represents the United States in complex litigation arising under a broad range of environmental statutes, and defends the United States against challenges to its cleanup and compliance actions at Superfund sites, federally-owned facilities and private sites. The incumbent will provide paralegal support to the Section's attorneys. To qualify for this position at GS-7, you must have one of the following: A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-5 Federal grade level providing litigation support in a legal environment. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, using litigation software to identify documents potentially relevant to litigation cases or maintaining legal databases used to track the production and receipt of documents, or B. A bachelor's degree and Superior Academic Achievement (See below), or C. One full year of graduate level education that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work, or D. A combination of education and specialized experience, that together meet 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. Superior Academic Achievement: This provision applies to persons who have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university as evidenced by one of three methods described below (within a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled): Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. To qualify for this position at GS-9, you must have one of the following: A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level or above utilizing automated legal databases to verify legal citations and statutory references; analyzing and organizing factual, legal, and archival records; providing assistance to attorneys in preparation for hearings and/or trials; and creating and maintaining litigation databases for management of case materials; or B. A master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education, or LL.B or J.D. Such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Paralegal Specialist; or C. A combination of graduate education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation). To qualify for GS-11, you must have one of the following: A. One year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-9 Federal grade level or above preparing summaries of depositions and other documents; performing factual, legal, and archival research; compiling and researching a variety of sources to verify, support, or dispute case information; and resolving problems in line with established policies, precedents, directives, and practices; or B. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or C. Three (3) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., if related; or D. A combination of education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. (Only graduate education in excess of the second year may be used in this calculation). Qualifying education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Applicants are required to submit a writing sample. Please provide a 1-5 page double spaced sample for which you are the primary author. This can include papers, or portions of papers, submitted for classes or writing assignments done for a previous employer. 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; philant