Legal Assistant

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Professional Staff Group (PSG) VII, Litigation Docket Room. The primary purpose of PSG VII is to represent the Secretary of Veterans Affairs litigation filed in U.S. Court of Appeals.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/08/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6.

For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-6 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of communications skills sufficient to respond to telephone and written inquiries from the public and VA officials concerning all varieties of legal inquires that require a limited amounts of research, processing automated data and ability to use a computer in support activities and to perform legal and program research.

GS-7 Specialized experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Perform interrelated assistance work requiring review of several types of legal documents, knowledge of court rules of practice and procedure and general knowledge of all phases of the work of PSG VII in order to successfully complete miscellaneous assignments as necessary.

GS-8 Specialized experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Detailed knowledge of court rules of practice and procedure to determine cases referred to a paralegal or attorney for preparation of jurisdictional motion, understand federal statutes and court rulings regarding disclosure of confidential information, use discretion in determining matters requiring special handling, knowledge sufficient to provide recommendations to assist Paralegal Specialists and Attorneys to plan strategies.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week.

Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary.

No special physical demands are required to perform work other than the lifting of government files that can be bulky and heavy (up to 60 lbs.) Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of offices and meeting rooms, e.g., use of safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of ripping and falling and observance of fire regulations. The work area is adequately lighted. heated, and ventilated.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.

To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Understands federal statutes and court rulings regarding disclosure of confidential information, and uses discretion in determining matters requiring special handling.

Assembles files and, based on knowledge of office procedures, obtains documents from multiple sources. Reviews legal documents according to court rules of practice and procedure and determines deadlines for attorney action. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as being within 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420.