"Alerted.org

Summary This position is located in the Office of the General Counsel, Office of the Solicitor (SO) and provides litigation support in defense of Agency decisions related to patent operations. The Office of the Solicitor provides legal counsel to the USPTO Director and their staff and represents the Director before the Federal Courts. The Supervisory Paralegal Specialist supervises a staff of paralegal specialists and legal assistants performing a wide variety of time-critical work. Responsibilities The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia.This position is telework eligible per agency and business unit discretion/policy. The individual selected for this position will… Develop and implement schedules, procedures and guidelines to effectively and efficiently carry out the work of the paralegal and legal assistant staff. The incumbent plans and assigns work, ensures acceptable productivity, establishes task priorities, and time-frames, designs and maintains work-flow monitoring systems, and ensures that all work is performed by the staff in a timely manner. Review notices of appeal and civil actions filed against the USPTO and determines if they were timely filed based on pertinent rules and regulations. Maintain an action monitoring system for all pending legal actions involving the USPTO, to schedule and prompt actions to be taken by USPTO attorneys in order to ensure that deadlines are met or extensions of time are requested. Assemble and provide statistics on all patent and trademark litigation to the Solicitor for program planning and to be included in the USPTO's Annual Report. Serve as primary contact in the Solicitor's Office for complex and confusing general and legally sensitive telephonic inquiries received from members of the public, attorneys, agents, inventors, various courts, other agencies, Federal and state law enforcement offices and USPTO personnel. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. The Qualifications Standard for Administrative and Management positions can be found here. Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-12. Specialized experience for this position includes: Reviewing, evaluating, and analyzing documents for compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements involving patent and/or trademark litigations in federal district court or federal appeals courts. Serving as a mentor or team lead and mentoring employees. Managing case dockets and preparing final statistical reports on patent and trademark litigation for program planning and/or for implementing changes in organization of work processes. The incumbent must also possess the following supervisory competencies to be successful in this position: Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for mistakes. Complies with established control systems and rules. Customer Service: Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external customers. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement. Decisiveness: Makes well-informed, effective, and timely decisions, even when data are limited or solutions produce unpleasant consequences; perceives the impact and implications of decisions. Flexibility: Is open to change and new information; rapidly adapts to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles. Integrity/Honesty: Behaves in an honest, fair, and ethical manner. Shows consistency in words and actions. Model's high standards of ethics. Interpersonal Skills: Treats others with courtesy, sensitivity, and respect. Considers and responds appropriately to the needs and feelings of different people in different situations. Oral Communication: Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations. Resilience: Deals effectively with pressure; remains optimistic and persistent, even under adversity. Recovers quickly from setbacks. Written Communication: Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. 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). 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. Education Education can not be substituted for experience for this position. Additional Information If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information. This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position. This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "moderate." Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website. Supervisory Probationary Period- If selected, you may be required to complete an initial one-year supervisory probationary period. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice. Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid. CTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: OPM CTAP/ICTAP. CTAP documentation requirements are listed in the 'Required Documents' section of this announcement. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued. All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at USPTO Reasonable Accommodation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation), national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, retaliation for engaging in protected activity, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity via email ([email protected]) or phone (571-272-8292).