Fact Witness Coordinator/Paralegal (USAO - Iowa)

BlackFish Federal•Davenport, IA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

This position will provide witness management assistance prior to, during, and after trial; paralegal and administrative support for our customer, the United States Attorney's Office (USAO).

Requirements

High School diploma.
Good communication skills.
Experience with word processing software and data entry.
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 prepare and correct reports and correspondence using word processing software.
Experience professionally answering inquiries, obtaining information, and interacting with individuals, agencies and organizations both in-person and over the phone pertaining to case-related information as maintained in the database, and case-related status.
Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
Experience performing analytical computations necessary to process data.
Ability to manipulate, transfer, compute, and print information.
Ability to obtain/maintain Department of Justice (DOJ) clearance.
All qualified candidates must be U.S. citizens.

Nice To Haves

Undergraduate degree.

Responsibilities

Provide witness management assistance prior to, during, and after trial.
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.
Initiate contact/notify fact witnesses concerning travel arrangements, appearance date/time, and determine any special circumstances or needs of the fact witness.
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, offer and 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.
Complete variable aspects of recurring documents in conformance with the rules governing their style and format.
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. 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.
Paralegal duties include reviewing documents and other materials produced pursuant to subpoena; maintaining inventory of materials produced pursuant to subpoena; and preparing outlines of substance of documents/materials produced pursuant to grand jury subpoena.
Prepare and maintain a variety of trial-related documents, e.g., discovery letters, exhibit lists, jury instructions, trial subpoenas, by applying a thorough knowledge of the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and application of practical litigative experience.
Provide litigative case management and organize cases for court presentation by preparing and organizing exhibits containing a variety of visual material, e.g., statistical charts and photographs. Note deficiencies in case materials, e.g., missing documents, conflicting statements, and request further investigation by investigative personnel to correct deficiencies, or personally conducts limited investigations at the pre-trial stage.
Maintain regular contact with law enforcement agencies to ensure provision of complete and timely cooperation in all aspects of assigned cases.
Monitor the progress of pending cases and initiate action to ensure that legal pleadings, forms, reports, correspondence, and other documents are prepared and submitted within established deadlines. Keep appropriate staff members informed about the status of cases.
Serve as contact person for assigned cases and provide information and assistance concerning status or relevant procedural issues.
Compile, organize, and index various discovery and evidence exhibits for trial, witness testimony as it relates to specific criminal charge evidence, and develops and compiles jury instructions to assist AUSA in preparing for trial. Works closely with assigned attorney(s) to ensure material is efficiently arranged.
Produce and provide to the attorney the appropriate legal documents, information, exhibits, or witnesses at the appropriate time during those court proceedings.
Prepare exhibits for trial which typically involves a wide range of visual materials including charts, diagrams, photographs, and models. Maintain accounting systems for materials to be used as exhibits in grand jury proceedings and trials, prepare lists and tables to correlate the exhibits with grand jury transcripts, and keeps a strict account of the exhibits used in such proceedings.
Provide advice to attorney and other legal support staff on the most effective and efficient ways to prepare, present and maintain a variety of administrative legal documents.
Perform a variety of administrative duties in support of the assigned AUSAs. Support assignments of this nature involve administrative support not of a strictly legal nature, but which typically involves automation support or other administrative subject-matter areas. Automation support may include one or more of the following: oUsing one or more types of personal computer (PC) based software, i.e., word processing, spreadsheet, or database management, develops methods for automating reports, statistical data, text and graphics. Identifies user requirements, selects appropriate software, designs user-specific applications to include development of input forms and output format which may include development of macros and use of advanced software features. Establishes detailed functional procedures needed to enter and to retrieve data for other application users. oUsing established databases, performs data searches, report design, and other data retrieval assignments. Reports may be of a recurring nature or of a special, one-time nature based on user information requirements.