What are the responsibilities and job description for the ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY position at U.S. Department of Justice?
ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida (NDFL) is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the Northern District of Florida. This includes criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits by and against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. Considered a medium-sized district, the NDFL encompasses 23 of Florida's 67 counties, and currently employs approximately 76 staff members, to include 37 Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs), with the main office located in Tallahassee and two branch offices in Pensacola and Gainesville.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
Organization Location: This position is with the Department of Justice, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Attorney's Office - Northern District of Florida, in the Criminal Division and located in the Pensacola Office.
The successful candidate will be responsible for legal research and writing, directing investigations, case development, presentation, and resolution, in addition to a variety of program responsibilities. Assignments may include prosecuting a broad array of cases such as public corruption, tax offenses, bank, mortgage, and healthcare fraud, terrorism, firearms offenses, narcotics crimes, human trafficking, child exploitation and other violent crimes.
Type of Position: All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 3 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience. Qualifying legal experience may include work as an attorney, as a judicial law clerk in either a Federal or State court and/or litigation experience in either public or private sector.
Proof of active bar membership is required.
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications: A minimum of five (5) years of recent criminal litigation experience is desired. Hiring preference will be given to applicants with courtroom experience in prosecuting a range of violent crimes, firearms offenses, and complex white-collar crimes. Applicants must have strong academics; outstanding organizational skills; superior legal writing and research ability; and demonstrated commitment to professionalism, ethics, civility, community involvement, and public service. Applicants must demonstrate quick analytical ability and the facility to accurately articulate the critical issues involved with a case. Applicants must display strong interpersonal skills and good judgment, have excellent oral communication skills, exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff and client agencies, and must have demonstrated capacity to function with minimal guidance in a highly demanding environment. Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer skills to include experience with automated research on the internet, electronic court filing, email and word processing systems. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- Required - Your resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day/month/year). One page cover letter highlighting your qualifications and indicating why you should be hired for this position.
- Required - List of references.
- Required - A legal writing sample (not to exceed 25 pages).
- Required - Copy of bar membership, in good standing.
- Required - Copy of official transcript confirming J.D. degree.
For this position, please send your application package to:
FLOYD.BOYER@USDOJ.GOV
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Updated October 6, 2023
Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice.
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position.
Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
USAO Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.
Salary : $74,250 - $180,755
