Legal Support Specialist – Litigation Support

Job Description

Legal Administrative Specialist | United States Attorneys’ Offices

The Tone:
This is a federal government role at the United States Attorneys’ Offices, located in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk, or Newport News, Virginia. The United States Attorneys’ Offices are part of the Department of Justice, a critical institution dedicated to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution across the nation. This position is essential for providing comprehensive pre-trial and courtroom support across a wide variety of trials, directly contributing to successful criminal investigations, prosecutions, appeals, and post-conviction litigation. The selected candidate will join a respected team, with responsibilities increasing in complexity as training and experience progress, playing a critical role in the federal legal system.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Location: In-person, Alexandria, Virginia; In-person, Richmond, Virginia; In-person, Norfolk, Virginia; In-person, Newport News, Virginia
• Pay: $51210–$91815 yearly
• Mission: Provide comprehensive administrative and litigation support to attorneys for criminal investigations, prosecutions, appeals, and post-conviction litigation.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Discovery Management: Organize and manage criminal discovery materials for assigned cases to ensure efficient access and utilization.
• Legal Document Preparation: Provide case-related administrative support to attorneys by preparing legal and administrative documents for investigations, prosecutions, appeals, and post-conviction litigation.
• Exhibit Production: Prepare master trial exhibits in both electronic and hard copy formats, and collaborate with Automated Litigation Support to prepare audio/video for courtroom presentations.
• Document Review and Editing: Proofread and provide basic editing assistance for critical legal documents such as appellate briefs, motion responses, search warrant affidavits, and material witness warrants.

The Must-Haves
• Background: To qualify at the GS-7 level, candidates must possess one full year of graduate education in a closely related field such as Criminal Justice or Law, OR hold a Bachelor’s Degree in a closely related field (e.g., Information Technology, Computer Science, Law, Criminal Justice) with demonstrated Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). For the GS-9 level, required education includes a Master’s, LL.B., J.D., or equivalent graduate degree in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law, Information Technology), OR two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, related to the position duties and demonstrating necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Experience: For GS-7, one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service or private sector is required. This qualifying experience involves performing routine litigation support assignments, such as assisting with organizing case information, preparing exhibits for court, compiling trial notebooks, and conducting research, analysis, and evaluation of data. For GS-9, one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level is necessary, including performing a variety of automated support for preparing, organizing, indexing, developing, managing, and tracking exhibits, evidence, and data; assisting attorneys with trial preparation and presentation recommendations; utilizing office automation tools; working with investigators, agents, and legal support staff; handling a wide variety of evidence and discovery; and providing technical assistance to litigation teams for courtroom presentations.
• Skills: Proficiently organizing and managing criminal discovery materials; preparing legal and administrative documents; creating and managing master trial exhibits in electronic and hard copy formats; collaborating on audio/video presentations for courtroom use; proofreading and providing basic editing assistance for legal documents; and utilizing various software applications to provide automated litigation assistance.