PARALEGAL SPECIALIST

This position advertised has been exempted from the federal civilian hiring freeze.

Current FBI employees are ineligible to apply if serving under the same conditions as that for which is advertised, including:

• Appointing organization (FBI)
• Type of position (full-time, part-time, etc.)
• Same or higher grade
• Duty location (city or state)
• Type of appointment (permanent, temporary, etc.)

Job Opening: 66341
Opening Date: July 16, 2026
Closing Date: July 29, 2026 Year at 11:59 pm (ET)

Job Title Paralegal Specialist

Full Performance Level GS-13

Division Office of the General Counsel (OGC)

Unit Legal Forfeiture

Location Washington, D.C.

Working Hours 8:00am-4:30pm (flexible)

Job Type Full Time/Permanent

Who May Apply All U.S. Citizens

Number of Positions Available 1

Questions Email: Tanya Culley/tjculley@fbi.gov

Salary GS-13 $121,785.00-$158,322.00

Additional selections may be made from this announcement to fill positions within the same division when the position includes substantially the same duties, responsibilities, and qualifications.

UNIT DESCRIPTION

The FBI's Office of the General Counsel (OGC) seeks an experienced paralegal to join its dynamic and challenging legal practice. OGC provides legal advice to the entire FBI, including the Director, FBI Headquarters officials, and agents in the 56 domestic field offices, on a wide range of substantive issues. OGC works closely with other elements of the Department of Justice and assists the FBI in forming partnerships with other federal, state, local and international agencies, as well as private sector entities, in support of FBI operations.

The Legal Forfeiture Unit (LFU) provides legal oversight of all aspects of the FBI's asset forfeiture program, ensuring proper utilization of forfeiture in a wide range of criminal violations to remove the profit from crime, dismantle existing and emerging organized criminal enterprises, cartels, and terrorist organizations, disrupt those illicit activities which threaten the physical or economic security of the United States, and recover assets that may be used to compensate victims when authorized by federal law. The ideal candidate should have paralegal experience in asset forfeiture or criminal law, or otherwise will have paralegal experience in a position requiring strong organization and writing skills.

The mission of the FBI is to protect the American People and uphold the Constitution of the United States.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be able to obtain a Top Secret-SCI clearance

MAJOR DUTIES:

• Conduct case file legal reviews, inquiries, analysis, and research at direction of attorneys to identify legal issues and potential risks in forfeiture proceedings and to support legal strategy and decision making.
• Assist in gathering, collecting, reviewing, and analyzing factual information to satisfy legal and policy requirements for forfeiture.
• Draft clear and accurate legal documents, memoranda, and correspondence for attorney review while adhering to unit's priorities, deadlines, and established legal procedures.
• Handle administrative and organizational tasks to support forfeiture legal proceedings, including but not limited to data entry in applicable databases and systems; document preparation; formatting, mailing, and tracking legal correspondence; maintaining and organizing unit filing and document retention systems.
• Assist in litigation preparation and organization.
• Manage and track case assignments for unit.
• Provide training to other personnel as needed.
• Coordinate and communicate information in a timely professional manner between LFU and other entities, internal and external, as directed.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EVALUATIONS

Please ensure that your specialized experience and requirements are clearly identifiable in your resume. Your application will be evaluated using the FBI's Candidate Rating Procedures. Your resume and supporting documents will be reviewed to verify that you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are found minimally qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

Competencies will be used in a Structured Resume Review to objectively evaluate applicant resumes. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Your resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies.

Competencies:

• Governance and Legal Jurisprudence (FBI Asset Forfeiture)
• Analytic Thinking
• Communication
• Organizing and Planning
• Information Management

Specialized Experience (SE)

GS-13: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of SE equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. SE is defined as follows:

• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective relationships with various entities in situations that may require a great deal of tact, diplomacy and persuasiveness in order to handle highly charged, emotional situations.
• Mastery knowledge of court procedures, and legal precedents, principles, concepts, and terminology to provide authoritative guidance to others. Thorough knowledge of Federal ethical standards. Knowledge of document control and security measures to ensure the safety or unintended release of information.
• Legal skills and proficiency to analyze and evaluate the relevance of technical data and information; investigate subject-matter details involved in a case or legal matter and weigh evidence; or answer complicated questions which may arise.
• Mastery and highly-developed knowledge and skill sufficient to perform extensive legal research and analysis of legislative history, precedent case law, decisions and opinions; and administrative decisions and regulations that may be applicable to the particular matter at hand. Must have thorough understanding of computerized systems for access to case, statutory, and administrative law to conduct other required legal research.

HOW TO APPLY

For detailed instructions related to applying, uploading documents, withdrawing an application or updating your application, please review instructions on . If applying online is a hardship, please use the contact information listed in the vacancy announcement prior to the closing date for assistance.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

To apply to this position, interested applicants must provide a complete application package by the closing date which includes:

Utilizing the Resume Builder, outline your relevant work experience and associated start and end dates. Uploaded resumes will not be reviewed or used for qualification purposes.

Other supporting documents (if applicable):

• A writing sample, not to exceed 5 pages (required)
• Former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. This is a requirement to verify your Time in Grade (TIG). Actions such as promotion, within grade increase, or reassignment actions must be submitted as your most recent SF 50.
• Most recent Performance Appraisal; not applicable to current FBI employees
  Veterans: DD 214; Disabled Veterans: DD 214, SF-15, and VA letter dated 1991 or later
• Memorandum for Record (MFR): Work performed outside assigned duties (that would not normally be documented on an SF-50, i. e., back-up duties), has to be documented in detail by an immediate supervisor in order to receive full credit for amount of time worked in that position. If no documentation is furnished no credit will be given for time worked in that position. The following notations must be specified in the documentation:
  • Percent of time worked in the particular position (cannot conflict with main duties.
  • The month/year work began
    Frequency worked (i.e., daily, monthly, etc.)
  • Specific duties performed

Attach the Memorandum for Record to your application in the "Cover Letters and Attachments" section of My Career Tools on the Careers Home page. Please upload the attachment as type "Other."

While applicants might see these documents in their profile, HR Specialists may be unable to access them. Therefore, all applicants MUST upload another copy to ensure that staffing units can review the complete application.

Please note: Failure to provide the necessary and relevant information required by this vacancy announcement may disqualify you from consideration. Incomplete applications will not be supplemented with additional requests for information; your application will be evaluated solely on the information you submit. You must complete the application process and submit all required documents by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the announcement's closing date.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your ranking. The Most Competitive candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. You will be notified of your status throughout the process.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• The FBI is in the Executive Branch of the federal government. It is one of the components of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The FBI is the principle investigative arm of the DOJ. All FBI positions are in the excepted service.
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens and consent to a complete background investigation, urinalysis, and polygraph. You must be suitable for Federal employment; as determined by a background investigation.
• If you are selected, you will be required to serve a two-year probationary period. Probationary employees are precluded from being considered for all job opportunities until 12-months of their 24-month probationary period has concluded. Probationary Employees may be considered for competitive vacancies that are advertised within their respective division or field office after serving 90 days within the FBI.
• The probationary periods will be served concurrently.

Veterans' Preference

If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume and application. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency.

Nepotism

Nepotism is the act of favoring relatives in the hiring process and is prohibited by law. Public officials are prohibited from hiring or promoting relatives or relatives of officials in their chain of command, as well as actively or indirectly endorse a relative's appointment or promotion. During the hiring process, all selected candidates and FBI hiring managers will be required to certify they are not related to anyone involved in the hiring process.

Reasonable Accommodation

The FBI provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application and/or hiring process, please contact the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs (OEEOA) Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Program by email at REASONABLE_ACCOMMODA@fbi.gov, phone at 202-324-2158, or fax at 202-324-3976. This email address is for reasonable accommodation requests only. Do not send applications or unrelated inquiries to this address, as they will not be considered.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The FBI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for this vacancy. Unless explicitly authorized by law, selection will be made without regard to, and there will be no discrimination because of, color, race, religion, national origin, marital status, parental status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age (40 or over), sex, pregnancy and related conditions, or on the basis of personal favoritism, or any other non-merit factors.

Benefits

The Bureau matches your dedication with a commitment to professional growth, a supportive work environment, and a robust benefits package that prioritizes you. As a member of our team, you'll enjoy comprehensive health and life insurance benefits, paid vacation, sick leave, and federal holidays. For more details about benefits available to all federal employees, visit the Office of Personnel Management's .