SPECIAL ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
(Serves Without Compensation)
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Middle District of Tennessee
Vacancy Announcement Number 12-MDTN-03
About the Office: The United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Tennessee, is located in Nashville, Tennessee. The office currently has 31 attorneys and 33 support personnel, and is divided into three divisions, Criminal, Civil and Administrative. Currently there are 22 Criminal Attorneys and 8 Civil Attorneys. The office seeks to maintain the highest standards of excellence in the enforcement of federal laws and the representation of the United States.
Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee is seeking applications from attorneys who are willing to accept an unpaid temporary position as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA). The successful applicant will serve as a SAUSA with responsibilities that include researching legal issues, drafting briefs, taking and defending depositions, conducting hearings and trials, and attending judicial proceedings. One or more positions may be filled from this vacancy announcement.
The term of the SAUSA appointment is 12 months, with a potential for an additional 12-month extension. At the conclusion of the term of appointment, the SAUSA will not be hired by this office as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA). However, the SAUSA may apply for AUSA positions in the office after completing service as a SAUSA. Only applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and writing skills will be considered. Recent law school graduates should include a copy of their law school transcript with their application.
Qualifications: Required qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree and be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction).
Travel: The SAUSA may be required to travel throughout the Middle District of Tennessee to attend court proceedings, conduct depositions, interview witnesses, and attend meetings. Travel is also required for training at the Department of Justice's National Advocacy Center, Columbia, South Carolina. Infrequent travel to other domestic destinations is possible.
Salary Information: This is a one-year appointment without compensation. Note that employees of the Department of Justice, including uncompensated SAUSAs, may not engage in the compensated practice of law outside of the office. Attorneys are not eligible to serve as SAUSAs if they have had an employment offer deferred by a law firm and received a payment for the period of their deferral with the expectation of future employment with the law firm, or if they will receive any payment from a law firm during their unpaid employment with the Department of Justice.
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Application Process and Deadline Date: Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to: .
Dawn Woodside
Administrative Services Specialist (HR)
110 9th Avenue South, Suite A-961
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
No telephone calls please. Position is open until filled.
Security Requirements: A background investigation will be conducted on all applicants who are hired. This includes fingerprints and a credit check.
Internet Sites: Middle District of Tennessee: http://www.justice.gov/usao/tnm/
This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html
Department Policies: A Special Assistant United States Attorney generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed. See 28 U.S.C. § 545 for district-specific information.
All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a time-limited (temporary) basis. Temporary appointments may, or may not, be extended or made permanent without further competition.
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 color, race, religion, national origin, politics, marital status, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of 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 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 (visit the OPM website, http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10 point preferences and the required supporting documents). 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 his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
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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.