ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS PLANO, TEXAS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO.: 08-EDTX-18 (AUSA) OPENING DATE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2008 CLOSING DATE: OCTOBER 1, 2008

ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Texas
Plano, Texas
Vacancy Announcement No.: 08-EDTX-18 (AUSA)
Opening Date: September 9, 2008
Closing Date: October 1, 2008

About the Office: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas represents the United States in all of its civil, criminal and appellate matters in the district. The Eastern District of Texas is a large district consisting of 6 staffed offices that cover 43 counties in the eastern part of the state, spanning more than 50,000 square miles from the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of Mexico. Offices are located in Sherman, Plano, Tyler, Texarkana, Beaumont and Lufkin. Our district works closely with federal agencies and law enforcement personnel located throughout the district and in the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas.

Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: Employment with the U.S. Attorney’s Office offers a unique and challenging experience for the highly motivated and talented attorney who is committed to serving justice. We are currently seeking two (2) experienced trial attorneys for the criminal division. One position involves prosecuting violations of federal criminal law, including child exploitation offenses. Responsibilities will also include serving as the district's Project Safe Childhood (PSC) coordinator, who will chair community outreach programs, including law enforcement officer training and school and community education programs. The other position involves prosecuting violations of federal criminal law, including firearms offenses. Responsibilities will also include serving as the district's Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) coordinator, who will chair community outreach programs, including law enforcement officer training and school and community educational programs.

Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of a state, territory or District of Columbia and have at least three (3) years of post-J.D. experience. Applicants must also be active members in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience or interest in prosecuting child exploitation crimes or firearms offenses, strong academic credentials, superior legal research and writing skills, quick analytic ability to accurately and precisely articulate critical case-related issues, courtroom experience, good interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a supportive and professional team environment with client agencies, support staff and other attorneys, and a demonstrated commitment to public service.

Travel: Occasional travel may be required.

Salary Information: Salary is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The starting salary range is $50,682 to $103,358 (includes locality pay for Plano) per annum for the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) position. The starting salary range is $50,682 to $86,000 (includes locality pay for Plano) per annum for the Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) position.

Location: The United States Attorney's Office in Plano is located at 101 E. Park Blvd., Suite 500.

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.

Application Process and Deadline Date: Interested persons must submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to:

Ms. Tamara Reno
First Assistant U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office
101 East Park Boulevard, Suite 500
Plano, TX 75074-6749

Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Central Standard/Daylight Time on October 1, 2008. No telephone calls please.

A hiring committee will evaluate the applications and invite a limited number of applicants for an interview with the committee. Following committee interviews, applicants may be selected for additional interviews with criminal and civil division supervisors and/or the United States Attorney.

Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of such factors as academic performance, research and writing ability, oral communication skills, trial experience, and other legal and community service experience.

Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html. The home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Texas, can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txe/.

Department Policies: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed. See 28 U.S.C. § 545 for district-specific information.

The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, color, race, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, disability, age, status as a parent, membership or nonmembership in an employee organization, or personal favoritism. 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. 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.

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. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys’ Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are 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.

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 are encouraged to include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214 or other substantiating documents) to their submissions.