Litigation Support Specialist (Recent Graduate)

To be eligible for this Recent Graduate program, one of the following requirements must be met: Recent graduates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution; or must have completed a qualifying career or technical education program with or without a formal degree in a Registered Apprentice Program, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, or Peace Corps. You must have completed your degree, certificate, or program on or before the end of the current semester. If you graduated or completed an education program prior to October 2022, you will not be eligible for this position. Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply. Note: If you are a current student seeking a degree or certificate from an educational institution, you may apply if you are in the final semester of the degree/certificate. You must include your expected date of graduation on your resume. You must receive your degree prior to appointment. If you are currently a student but cannot provide proof that you expect to graduate by the end of the current semester, you will not meet the program eligibility requirements for the Recent Graduate. To qualify for this position at the GS-7, you must meet the requirements in either A, B, C, or D: A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-5 Federal grade level providing legal support or assistance on administrative programs, ensuring that documents are prepared in accordance with established organizational procedures, and using computer software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel) to analyze and compile information to produce documents relevant to an organization. B. A bachelor’s degree with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). The education must be related to the field of the position for which training on the job will be provided. SAA 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; or 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; or 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. C. One year of graduate education that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work; or D. A combination of graduate education and specialized experience described above that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. To qualify for this position at the GS-9, you must meet the requirements in either A, B, or C: A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level reviewing legal documents associated with cases in litigation, preparing documents for trial including reviewing data for accuracy and completeness, and using computer software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel) to analyze and compile information to produce documents relevant to an organization. B. A masters 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 Litigation Support Specialist. C. A combination of experience as described in letter “A” above and graduate education as described in letter “B” above, which, when combined, are equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirements for this position at the GS-9 Federal grade level. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation). 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 skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To preview questions, please click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12570315. YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement if you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements. Please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions. Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
This position is located in the Office of Litigation Support, Executive Office, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Division handles environmental and natural resources litigation on behalf of the United States. The Office supports the Division by providing automated litigation support services, overseeing contract support services, and providing guidance to trial attorneys and support staff on best practices in all phases of litigation, including discovery and trial.