SPECIAL ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
(Serves Without Compensation)
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Western District of Virginia
Vacancy Announcement Number: 12-WDVA-SAUSA-01
About the Office: The United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia, covers 52 of the state's counties and employs approximately 25 Assistant United States Attorneys over four staffed offices. The main office is located in Roanoke, Virginia, with branch offices in Abingdon, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.The United States Attorney's Office prosecutes federal criminal offenses and represents the U.S. government's interest in civil cases both affirmatively and defensively.
The Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes federal cases arising from a wide array of criminal activity. The typical criminal caseload for a attorney may involve major drug cases, gang-related violent crimes, other crimes of violence, computer crimes including child pornography, and sophisticated white collar offenses.
The Civil Division investigates and litigates cases involving fraud committed against the United States, including many health care, procurement, and other fraud cases filed under the False Claims Act. The Civil Division also defends an array of civil cases brought against the United States and its agencies and employees, including cases brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the anti-discrimination statutes, and for alleged violations of constitutional rights by federal employees. The Civil Division also handles cases involving forfeiture of assets, collections of debts owed the government and bankruptcy matters.
More information on the Office can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/usao/vaw/
Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia is seeking applications from attorneys who are willing to accept an unpaid, temporary, position that offers a valuable opportunity to gain exposure to the federal judicial system and obtain litigation experience. Successful applicants will serve as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) with responsibilities that include researching legal issues, drafting briefs, conducting hearings and trials, and attending judicial proceedings.
SAUSA positions in the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia require a minimum service commitment of one year.
Currently, applications are being considered for up to four positions in the Roanoke, VA office and up to two positions in the Charlottesville, VA office.
Please note that SAUSAs will not be hired by this office as Assistant U.S. Attorneys at the conclusion of their SAUSA terms. However, they may apply for future AUSA positions in the office after completing their service as SAUSAs.
Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. experience.Only applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and writing skills will be considered. Any applicant invited for an interview will be required to submit a writing sample. Recent law school graduates should include a copy of their law school transcript with their application.
Travel: Travel, both within and outside the District, may be required depending on the needs of a particular case.
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 the have been deferred by a law firm and received a payment for the period of their deferral, or if they will receive any payment from a law firm during their unpaid employment with the Department of Justice
Attorneys are eligible if they have received severance or other one-time payment before becoming a SAUSA, or if they have an unpaid, future commitment to join a law firm.
Location: Applications are currently being considered for placement in our Roanoke and Charlottesville, VA Offices.
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized.
Application Process and Deadline Date: Interested applicants should send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to:
United States Attorney's Office - WDVA
ATTN: Jason Austin
P.O. Box 1709
Roanoke, VA 24008
Or to usavaw.personnel@usdoj.gov.
Please specify in your application materials which duty location you are interested in.
No telephone calls please. Position is open until filled.
Security Requirements: A limited background investigation will be conducted on all applicants who are hired. This includes a name, fingerprint and credit check
Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.htm
More information on the United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/vaw/
Department Policies: 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 10point 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.