Legal Assistant - Fact Witness

Description
Purpose: The United States Attorney's Office requires the services of a Legal Assistant to assist in support of the Fact Witness program.
Scope: Shall provide all clerical services required to perform the tasks related to the support of the USAO Fact Witness management process by providing a variety of direct assistance to USAO Victim-Witness personnel, AUSAs, Legal Assistants, administrative staff, and other USAO personnel. The primary purpose is to support the Fact Witness management process by completing and processing travel vouchers; arranging for witness travel and lodging; working directly with witnesses to ensure appearance for court, pre-trial conferences, and grand jury; and coordinating with other agencies as required, among other duties. A secondary objective is to reduce the delay in witness payments and enable Victim-Witness personnel to increase the quality and quantity of direct services being provided to victims.The contractor shall provide all clerical services required to perform the tasks related to the support of the USAO Fact Witness management process by providing a variety of direct assistance to USAO Victim-Witness personnel, AUSAs, Legal Assistants, admin staff, and other USAO personnel.
Duties:

• Provide witness management assistance prior to, during, and after trial. Typical assignments include: work directly with Fact Witnesses, provide assistance and support to ensure appearance for court, pre-trial conferences, and grand jury.
• Receive visitors, field phone calls, questions and other inquiries from Fact Witnesses seeking information pertaining to court, pre-trial conferences, grand jury appearances and expense reimbursement. Obtain pertinent information for files and documents necessary to arrange witness travel and reimbursements.
• Initiate contact/notify Fact Witnesses concerning travel arrangements, appearance date/time, and determine any special circumstances or needs of the Fact Witness. Use judgment to determine when AUSA should be notified of special circumstances or needs of Fact Witnesses.
• Confer with AUSA concerning Fact Witness appearance and special circumstances regarding witnesses (special authorizations, international witnesses, military/federal employee witnesses, or hostile witnesses). Complete and submit proper documentation for special authorizations and obtain prior approval before proceeding with travel arrangements.
• Prior to Fact Witness' appearance, ensure all travel documents and appearance date and time have been provided to witness. Make necessary arrangements for Fact Witness travel and lodging according to Department of Justice and USAO policies and procedures.
• Meet with Fact Witnesses upon arrival to designated hearing or pre-trial conference, perform courtroom orientation, accompany witness to court, ensure a safe waiting area is available, and collect necessary documentation and signatures for Fact Witness reimbursement documents.
• Prepare and submit documentation for Fact Witness reimbursement, i.e. witness vouchers and other required documentation for Fact Witnesses. Furnish requested information concerning pending and completed Fact Witness vouchers. Gather required documentation and reconcile Government Travel Accounts.
• Obtain information, confer, and coordinate with the Court, Probation, Pretrial, U.S. Marshals Service, investigative agencies, and other counterparts, when necessary.
• Complete variable aspects of recurring documents in conformance with the rules governing their style and format. Compose original letters that do not require legal interpretations, but require a good working knowledge of legal procedures and specialized terminology relevant to Fact Witness laws and regulations.
• Perform general office procedures pertaining to Fact Witness management, including, but not limited to: establish and maintain a variety of Fact Witness files, documents and databases; assemble documents and other information for Fact Witness file material and retention in accordance with established procedures and Department of Justice regulations; if requested, establish and maintain calendar and/or database of active and pending Fact Witness appearances; track hearings, trial dates, grand jury and scheduling conferences; perform other administrative and logistical Fact Witness management related duties as required/assigned.

Qualifications required:

• Undergraduate Degree preferred
• The contractor must have good communication and organizational skills, the ability to deliver highest quality work under pressure, and knowledge of software used by the USAO (or the ability to acquire knowledge about the USAO's computer systems).
• The contractor must have the ability to prove U.S. citizenship and that the contractor personnel meet the Department of Justice residency requirements.
• Good communication skills
• Provide word processing and data entry/retrieval
• Ability to review and analyze data and information from multiple sources
• Ability to establish case/project files
• Ability to enter and retrieve data from databases
• Ability to prepare and format management reports
• Ability to manipulate, transfer, compute and print information
• Ability to prepare and correct reports and correspondence using word processing software
• Schedule appointments
• Answer inquiries regarding case-related information as maintained in the database
• Answer inquiries regarding case-related status
• Obtain additional information from other agencies/organizations
• Maintain internal status information on the disposition of designated information, files, and assets
• Assure information is accurate and perform analytical computations necessary to process data
• Provide admin info and assistance concerning case or file to other agencies or organizations

Background and Screening: The Legal Assistant is required to have a favorably completed background investigation prior to an approved start date.
Hours of Operation: The contractor will generally perform the services required under this contract within a 40 hour work/week, Monday through Friday.
Benefits Available: As specified in the DOL wage determination's health and welfare description.
CTC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This means that we will extend equal opportunity to all individuals without regard for race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other legally protected category.