Paralegal Specialist

Summary

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced to applicants eligible to apply through Merit Staffing procedures under 26-ME-13005750-MS.

Duties

• The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maine has a position available for a Paralegal Specialist in our Criminal Division. The Paralegal Specialist vacancy is in our branch office, located in Bangor, central Maine's largest city. Bangor is a vibrant, livable small city located on the Penobscot River and less than one hour from Acadia National Park and Maine's famous rocky coast. As a paralegal, you will have the opportunity to work with federal prosecutors on cases that have a direct impact on the lives of Americans who live in Maine and across the country. Paralegals provide assistance in legal research and writing as well as reviewing evidence in cases involving violent crimes and various aspects of litigation. If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! You will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal and civil laws that protect life, liberty, and the property of citizens. For additional information regarding our office, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me. The Office has one opening for a Paralegal Specialist in our Bangor branch within the Criminal Division. First round consideration will be given to applications submitted by September 18, 2026, at 11:59 pm EST. Thereafter, the applicant list will be reviewed every 30 days. As needed, additional positions may be filled. If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for providing legal and litigative support to the Criminal Division for the District of Maine. Typical work assignments will include: Review and organize complex factual material and other documentary data for investigations and trials. Prepare a variety of substantive legal documents to include extradition requests, grand jury and trial subpoenas, interrogatory requests, and documentation relevant to acquiring evidence or testimony. Provide advice on the most efficient method for preparing legal documents. Use tables and citation checking with efficiency. Develop and enter various case material into a computer database. Prepare charts, graphs, and tables to illustrate results. Prepare, develop, compile, or maintain jury instructions in preparing for trial. Prepare exhibits for trial, which typically involve a wide range of visual materials. Provide litigation case management and organize cases for court presentation. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Qualifications

GS-07: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level. Specialized experience is defined as work which demonstrates a basic knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions to include drafting a variety of legal documents and correspondence; assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing various evidentiary exhibits; reviewing legal documents to extract information related to specific issues; verifying citations and statutory references contained in legal documents; utilizing various computerized database programs to include automated legal research tools and public information to organize extensive documents; conducting research. Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice Law): One full year of graduate level education leading to a Master's degree or higher; or a completed Bachelor's Degree or equivalent, with Superior Academic Achievement, as defined by the Office of Personnel Management's Qualification Standards. Superior Academic Achievement is the completion of a full four year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree and meets one of the following provisions: (1) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for all completed undergraduate course work or for all courses completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work; (2) a GPA of 3.5 or higher for all courses in the major field of study, or those courses in a major completed in the last two full years of undergraduate work; (3) ranking in the upper one-third of a college, university, or major subdivision or (4) membership in a national scholastic honor society. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. To qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be more than one full year. GS-09: To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level. Specialized experience is defined as work which demonstrates knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions to include examining and processing a variety of legal documents; conducting research, analysis and evaluation of data in response to complex or sensitive requests; drafting briefs, pleadings, litigation recommendations, or other legal documents and correspondence; assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing various evidentiary exhibits; using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information; document findings and preparing recommendations; searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel. Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice Law): Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D.); or two full years of progressively higher-level education leading to such a degree. Applicants with a J.D. are strongly encouraged to apply. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. To qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be more than two full years. GS-11: To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level. Specialized experience is defined as work which demonstrates knowledge of legal research and ability to interpret legal decisions to include analyzing and evaluating legal decisions and case files to identify relevant issues and potential evidence; conducting legal research concerning precedents and past court decisions; composing legal briefs, summaries of analysis and decisions, and pre-trial documents; interviewing witnesses and various individuals who can provide insight into cases under review; preparing evidence and documents to support recommendations; assisting in trial preparation by compiling, organizing, and indexing various evidentiary exhibits; using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information; searching and reviewing legal references, case files, and other sources for information and data required by attorneys or court personnel. Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice Law): a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements if, when combined, are equivalent to 100% of the education requirement. To qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be more than two full years. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate level hours that exceed 36 semester hours (or your school's definition of two years graduate study). To calculate your percentage of specialized experience, divide the total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov OR Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of all the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/18/2026 the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: 1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. 2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. 3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 09/18/2026. 4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. 5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements) 6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13005749 To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.