Legal Assistant

Job Description

Legal Administrative Specialist | United States Attorneys’​ Offices

The Tone:
This is a critical support role within the United States Attorneys’ Offices, a key component of the Department of Justice, an organization committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. This position plays a vital part in the successful prosecution of civil matters by providing essential administrative, paralegal, and litigation support to legal teams. The selected candidate will be instrumental in ensuring efficiency and organization in case development and court proceedings, contributing directly to federal legal operations.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Location: In-person (specific city not mentioned in this listing)

• Team: Support to civil legal teams
• Mission: To provide primary administrative and legal support for civil cases, ensuring efficient discovery management, case preparation, and legal document drafting.
• Tech Stack: Trial presentation software, case management software

What You’ll Actually Do
• Discovery Management: Serve as the primary support specialist responsible for managing incoming and outgoing discovery in civil matters, including coordinating with agency partners, reviewing materials, organizing voluminous documents, preparing productions, and maintaining detailed indices.
• Evidentiary Analysis: Analyze and summarize evidentiary materials, such as witness statements and documentary records, drawing upon knowledge of the legal and factual issues in the Government’s case.
• Litigation Support: Assist attorneys with interview, deposition, hearing, and trial preparation, and provide support during live court proceedings by drafting subpoenas, assembling exhibits, proofreading briefs, and operating trial presentation software.
• Legal Document Drafting: Conduct legal and factual research in support of civil cases and draft a variety of legal documents such as discovery requests, routine motions, proposed orders, and notices.
• Administrative Support: Provide comprehensive administrative support for civil cases, including tracking case deadlines and court appearances, maintaining meticulous case files, and accurately entering information into case management software.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Entry-level career with either one full year of specialized experience at the GS-5 level or equivalent in a legal environment performing routine legal assistance, or one full year of graduate-level education in a related field such as Criminal Justice, Paralegal Sciences, or Law.
• Experience: One year of specialized experience demonstrating a basic knowledge of litigation procedures, exemplified by preparing routine legal documents, assisting with the discovery process (e.g., indexing, transmitting, tracking), aiding with hearing/trial preparation (e.g., compiling exhibits, witness lists), or supporting case development through basic legal/factual research or summarizing evidentiary materials.
• Skills: Basic knowledge of litigation procedures, ability to organize complex and voluminous materials, proficiency in drafting routine legal documents, and foundational legal/factual research capabilities.
• Bonus: Possess a bachelor’s degree with Superior Academic Achievement, defined as being in the upper third of the graduating class, having a GPA of 3.0 or higher overall (or 3.5+ in major), or being elected to a national scholastic honor society.