Summary This is an excepted service appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduates Program. This appointment is a one year career development program. At the successful completion of the program requirements, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional appointment. For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/ Responsibilities If selected for this position, you will join a litigation team and provide legal support services to Assistant United States Attorneys to work on impactful cases and trials in the Criminal and National Security Divisions and the Civil Rights Section of the Civil Division, serving the nearly 20 million residents of the Central District of California. Legal support services include assistance on investigations, discovery, and trial presentation, often through automated case litigation and management programs. Duties include: Providing assistance to litigation teams on document management for investigations, discovery, and trials through creating and coordinating e-Discovery and litigation support services. Assist in creating and coordinating e-Discovery and litigation support services. Help design and create litigation support databases with various software products. Help prepare photo boards, maps, charts and other demonstrative exhibits required for trial and hearings. Edit audio and video files for production and presentation at hearings, conferences, trials, and proffers. Assist in preparing training materials for litigation technology applications. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. Travel Required: Occasional Travel Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To be eligible for a recent graduate appointment, ALL of the following requirements must be met: Recent Graduates must have obtained a qualifying associates, bachelors, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying accredited educational institution within the previous 2 years unless military service interfered with a veteran's eligibility to apply during that two year time frame. Veterans meeting the above exclusion may apply within 2 years of discharge or 6 years from the date of receipt of the degree whichever comes first. (Go to http://www.ed.gov/accreditation?src=rn to verify accreditation status). Recent graduates must be United States citizens or owe permanent allegiance to the United States. (Currently, natives of American Samoa, Swains Island and certain inhabitants of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are the only groups that owe permanent allegiance to the United States.) You must successfully complete a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment. All recent graduates are required to sign a Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement. Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment. You must submit transcripts (unofficial or official) from an education institute stating that you meet all degree requirements to be considered eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduate Program. Official transcripts will be required prior to an official job offer, if selected for this position. Qualification requirements as outlined below: GS-7: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, a combination of Education and Experience, OR Superior Academic Achievement. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience performing litigation support assignments such as assisting with organizing case information; preparing discovery productions, including scanning and coding documents and creating DVDs; assisting in the use of technology to organize digital evidence; and assisting attorneys in preparing for court such as preparing exhibits, including audio and video exhibits. Education: One full year of graduate education in a related field (e.g., Information Technology, Computer Science, Law, Criminal Justice): 1 full year of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education was obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of specialized experience and graduate education may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Combination specialized experience and graduate education as described above which when combined equal 100% of the requirements. To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. To calculate percentage of graduate education, divide the total number of your semester hours by 18 or your school's definition of one year of study, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. Superior Academic Achievement: Possess a Bachelor's Degree or expect to complete the requirements for a Bachelor's degree within the next 9 months AND possess at least one of the following criteria: class standing in the upper third of the graduating class; an overall GPA of 3.0 OR at least a 3.0 based on courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; a GPA of at least 3.5 based on the average of required courses completed in my major field OR based on the average of required courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; OR election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Education All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov Foreign Education Note: You may use foreign education to meet qualification requirements if you send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency in with your transcript. 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. Additional Information Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Veterans' Preference: If you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the documentation as specified in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement: The Department of Justice is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment for all employees and applicants. See U.S. Department of Justice Equal Employment Opportunity Policy for complete details. Diversity Statement: As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.