Paralegal

Job Description

Paralegal Specialist | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The Tone:
This is a full-time permanent position at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), located throughout the country. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) is the largest legal department within the Department of Homeland Security, comprised of over 3,000 attorneys and 500 support staff. This role is crucial for assisting OPLA attorneys who serve as agency counsel, exclusively representing the U.S. Government in immigration proceedings and supporting federal litigation nationwide. The work directly impacts cases involving criminal aliens, terrorists, human rights violators, and other priority aliens.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, throughout the country

• Team: Legal Operations (Legal Ops) paralegals assist OPLA attorneys
• Mission: Assist attorneys in representing the U.S. Government in immigration proceedings before immigration judges and supporting federal litigation.
• Tech Stack: Automated legal research tools, electronic case management system

What You’ll Actually Do
• Legal Research: Research laws, regulations, court decisions, and other legal authorities, then analyze and apply findings to support attorneys.
• Case Preparation: Assist attorneys in preparing for and representing the United States Government in immigration proceedings and federal litigation.
• Document Drafting: Prepare correspondence, motions, briefs, case summaries, affidavits, and other legal documents in draft and final form.
• Information Analysis: Compile, summarize, and analyze case information, statistics, or other relevant data for attorneys and leadership decision-making.
• Workflow Management: Manage calendars, deadlines, and other logistical aspects essential to the legal team’s work.

The Must-Haves
• Background: To qualify at the GS-09 level, applicants need a Master’s or equivalent graduate degree, two years of progressively higher-level graduate education, an LL.B. or J.D. (if related), or one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 level. This specialized experience includes drafting and editing legal memoranda, reviewing case materials, and preparing trial exhibits.
• Experience: For the GS-12 level, applicants require one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level. This involves researching relevant legislation, regulations, case law, and policy, preparing litigation reports for lawsuits against an agency, reviewing and recommending responses on appeals, and evaluating evidence and facts to make recommendations within legal and regulatory frameworks.
• Skills: Legal research using automated tools, legal document preparation (e.g., motions, briefs, affidavits), data compilation and analysis, electronic case management system proficiency, and managing deadlines and calendars.