Legal Assistant
What you'd do
This position is located in the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Executive Office for Immigration Review, U. S. Department of Justice. It provides legal and administrative support to the BIA by processing and tracking appellate cases, reviewing files and case documents, supporting Board orders, maintaining files, and coordinating workflow. This is a Competitive Service position; additional positions may be filled from this announcement within 90 days of certificate issuance.
Major duties
The duties and responsibilities for a Legal Assistant, GS-0986-8/9 generally include, but are not limited to, the following: Providing technical legal and administrative support to appellate immigration judges in reviewing immigration and nationality cases and processing actions that result in formal Board orders. Coordinating, routing, and monitoring case assignments to maintain an orderly workflow and identify detained, expedited, or special review cases requiring immediate attention. Reviewing case records and critical data fields, research supporting documents, identify errors or omissions, and ensure compliance with applicable statutes, regulations, precedents, and procedures. Using automated case management and attorney discipline systems to track case status, file locations, corrections, revisions, deadlines, correspondence, and supporting documentation. Proofreading, formatting, and editing legal documents, opinions, correspondence, and orders for accurate citations, quoted material, grammar, style, and compliance with Board procedures. Establishing, organizing, maintaining, and closing legal and administrative files, determining which case materials must be retained under established records procedures. Responding to procedural inquiries, research case status, draft correspondence, coordinate schedules and oral arguments, and maintain legal reference materials for appellate immigration judges.
What you need to qualify
In order to qualify for the Legal Assistant position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: FOR THE GS-08 LEVEL: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks, full-time) of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (or comparable experience outside the Federal service), performing 3 or more of the following duties: Reviewing legal or administrative case files for completeness using established procedures; Updating case information in an automated case management system; Maintaining legal files in accordance with records procedures; and Proofreading routine legal documents for accuracy and proper format. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) FOR THE GS-09 LEVEL: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks, full-time) of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-08 level in the Federal service (or comparable experience outside the Federal service), performing 3 or more of the following duties: Applying statutes, regulations, and precedents to determine whether case actions comply with regulatory requirements; Researching regulations, precedents, and agency guidance to address procedural questions and process legal case actions; Tracking priority legal cases and updating case status to support expedited review and timely processing; and Providing case status and procedural information to attorneys, judges, staff, or other authorized parties. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
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