Department of Justice

Supervisory Paralegal Specialist

Washington, District of Columbia Full time

Supervisory Paralegal Specialist

Department: Department of Justice

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $121785 - $158322 Per Year

Job Summary: The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is unique in the size and the scope of its work. It serves as both the local and the federal prosecutor for the nation's capital. On the local side, AUSAs assigned to the Superior Court Division prosecute cases ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. On the federal side, AUSAs assigned to the Criminal Division prosecute federal crimes. The Civil Division further defends the United States in civil suits brought in the District of Columbia.

Major Duties:

  • If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for supervising team leaders, providing advice to management officials and participating in the development and promulgation of policy and procedural manuals, including development and maintenance of guidelines and systems for staff in the Major Crimes section of the Superior Court Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Typical work assignments will include: Planning work to be accomplished by support employees in subordinate units. Setting/adjusting short-term priorities and preparing schedules for completion of work. Preparing individual work plans, performance standards, and performance evaluations for subordinate staff. Interviewing and recommending candidates for subordinate positions. Supervising legal research to determine issues and case worthiness. Supervising coordination of evidence for presentation in court, discovery process, and preparation regarding responses to pre-trial motions, subpoenas and stipulations. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. 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.

Qualifications: Note: In order to be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure that your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience that you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly stated in your resume, you will not be considered for this position. To be found qualified at the GS-13 level, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized Experience: is defined as experience that has equipped you with the competencies in applying knowledge of laws, court and/or administrative decisions and interpretation of rules, regulations, policies, and procedural requirements needed to perform paralegal job duties. Examples of such experience are: communicating organizational goals, objectives, procedures and methodology to support staff; monitoring, reviewing and reporting on the status of work, work in progress, work priorities, deadlines and quality of work; communicating and reporting to management for direction and status updates on administrative support needs of the section; applying quantitative and qualitative methods to identify, assess, analyze and improve team effectiveness, efficiency and work products; observing training needs, recommending training and providing training as needed to develop staff.

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 the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/20/2026 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 03/20/2026. 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. 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/12910883To 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

Application Deadline: 2026-03-20