VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
WASHINGTON, D.C.
About the Office: The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (USAODC) is unique among the 94 United States Attorneys ' Offices across the nation by virtue of its size and its varied responsibilities. It is the largest United States Attorney 's Office with up to 350 Assistant United States Attorneys and 350 support personnel. The size of this Office is the result of the breadth of our responsibility for criminal law enforcement and our location in the nation 's capital. We are responsible not only for the prosecution of all federal crimes, but also for the prosecution of all serious local crimes committed by adults in the District of Columbia. In addition, we represent the United States and its departments and agencies in civil proceedings filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. As the principal prosecutor for all criminal offenses in this jurisdiction, and as the principal litigator for the United States in the nation 's capital, this Office offers extensive litigation experience before over 100 judges in the federal and local courts and unique opportunities for important public service.
Responsibilities and Opportunities Offered: The applicant selected will represent the U.S. Government as an Assistant United States Attorney in a wide range of unique and complex cases.
Criminal Assignments
As a general rule, during their first four years of service with this Office, Assistant U.S. Attorneys "rotate" through a series of assignments, each of which is of several months duration. However, Assistants who join the Office with particular expertise may be eligible for acceleration through the rotation process; also, Office needs and Assistant skill and development may result in an adjustment from the general schedule. The rotation of assignments provides training in criminal investigation, allows Assistants to develop their trial and oral advocacy skills, and offers exposure to the myriad issues raised by the wide variety of cases the Office handles. The first assignment in the rotation is normally either to the Appellate Division or to the Superior Court Misdemeanor Section or Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Unit. If an Assistant starts in Appellate, he/she will then move to either the Misdemeanor Section or the Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Unit.
Following the Assistant's tenure in Misdemeanors, he/she moves to the Felony Drug Detail in the Felony Trial Section to try felony narcotics cases. This assignment is usually followed by an assignment to the Community Prosecution/Grand Jury/Intake Section. Following the Grand Jury assignment, a number of things may occur: Assistants may move to or transfer back to the Felony Trial Section to prosecute violent crime cases; Assistants may transfer to the U.S. District Court Criminal Division to serve in one of its specialized sections in a rotational assignment or an Assistant may transfer into a specialized or "senior" assignment in the Office. The order and length of any Assistant's assignment depends upon the staffing needs of the Office.
Civil Assignments
Civil Division vacancies are usually filled by direct hire into the Civil Division. Civil Division vacancies may also be filled by Assistants from the criminal divisions who have completed the rotation. In addition, assistants assigned to the District Court Criminal and the Superior Court Divisions may apply for a detail to the Civil Division as rotational vacancies occur. Civil Division Assistants may apply for a vacancy in the Criminal Division after completion of the four-year commitment.
Qualifications: This Office seeks attorneys who are citizens of the United States and have outstanding legal ability, high moral character, mature judgment, a keen desire for public service, and an exceptional aptitude for litigation. Selections are made of the most highly qualified attorneys who apply, without regard to race, sex, creed, color, national origin, handicap, age, or political affiliation. Although experience in the criminal justice system as either a prosecutor or defense attorney is not necessary, we do require at least one year of legal experience following admission to the Bar. To be considered for a Civil Division vacancy, however, an applicant should have at least two years of civil litigation experience.
Interested applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any state, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and have at least one year post J.D. legal experience. Applicants must be an active member of the bar in good standing.
Travel: Some travel may be necessary.
Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience and availability of funds.
Location: The United States Attorney 's Office for the District of Columbia is located at 555 4th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The office is a few blocks from Capitol Hill and close to the National Mall and the downtown area.
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Application Process and Deadline Date: An application package for a position with this Office should include a letter of application, resume, legal writing sample and an official law school transcript. Applications are accepted year-round unless otherwise noted. The writing sample selected for submission should be the applicant's exclusive work product. If the writing sample was edited, or if there were other contributors, applicants are expected to identify those portions of the writing sample not exclusively their own work product and the extent of editing done by others. Applicants may also submit letters of reference from persons recommending appointment.
Applicants interested in being considered for a position with the Civil Division of this Office should so specify in the letter forwarding their application.
In order for a judicial law clerk to qualify for this Office, you must be admitted to a bar and must be eligible to be admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. We will accept applications from those currently serving as judicial law clerks in January of the year in which the clerkship expires. The deadline for applications is January 31st.
If you are interested in applying to the Civil Division, please forward your application to the attention of Daniel Van Horn, Deputy Chief of the Civil Division. Applications for positions in the Criminal Division are accepted throughout the year.
All applications and supporting documentation should be mailed to:
Principal Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney's Office
District of Columbia
555 Fourth St., N.W.
Room 5810
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202)514-6933
Position is open until filled.
Internet Sites: The home page for the U.S. Attorney ' s Office for the District of Columbia may be accessed at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/dc/Employment/index.html.
This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html
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.
Benefits: The Federal government offers a number of exceptional benefits to its employees. The following Web addresses are provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees:
Flexible Spending Accounts - The Federal Flexible Spending Accounts Program (FSAFeds) allows you to pay for certain health and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars. For additional information visit: https://www.fsafeds.com/fsafeds/index.asp
Health Insurance - The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program offers over 100 optional plans. For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave - Most Federal employees earn both annual and sick leave. For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance - The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI) offers: Basic Life Insurance plus three types of optional insurance, for additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance - The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) provides long term care insurance for Federal employees and their parents, parents-in-law, stepparents, spouses, and adult children. For additional information visit: http://www.ltcfeds.com/
Retirement Program - Almost all new employees are automatically covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan. The three tiers are: Social Security Benefits, Basic Benefit Plan, Thrift Savings Plan. For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/retire/index.asp
Federal Holidays - You will be paid for federal holidays that fall within your regularly scheduled tour of duty. For additional information visit: http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/index.asp http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/jobextrainfo.asp#HOLI .
This link provides and overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees. http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ei61.asp