Legal Assistant (Office Automation)

About the Position: This position serves within the US Army Medical Command, at a Medical Treatment Facility as a Legal Assistant (OA) for the Fort Meade Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory. This position is responsible for performing legal assistance work that requires specialized knowledge of processes, procedures and practices to support legal activities.

Major duties

• Exercise control and maintenance of forensic documents, ensuring a strict chain of custody.
• Review complex legal documents for accuracy and completeness.
• Maintain and safeguard sensitive forensic documents in accordance with regulations like the Privacy Act, FOIA, and HHS Guidelines.
• Ensure external requests for documentation are completed in compliance with rules for releasing sensitive information (PII, PHI).
• Respond to telephone, email, and FAX inquiries regarding litigation support from personnel such as Commanders, attorneys, and MROs.
• Prepare and compile litigation support packages for technical review and certification.
• Work with inspection teams on a tri-annual and semi-annual basis, gathering and organizing all requested scientific and legal documentation.
• Ensure all results on certified Civilian Custody and Control Forms (CCF) are expedited to the Medical Review Officer (MRO) to meet reporting requirements.
• Provide support to various agencies and personnel by processing special testing requests and tracking specimens.
• Provide office automation support using various software packages (Microsoft Word, Excel, Access) and hardware (scanners, printers, etc.).

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army) Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473 Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes demonstrating comprehensive, practical knowledge of military and federal civilian drug testing regulations, alongside the technical ability to maintain strict forensic chain-of-custody documentation and compile sensitive litigation support packages. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06). Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-06). Proficiency Required: This position requires a qualified typist. A qualified typist can type 40 words per minute based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.