Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney
Spokane, WA 99201 - United States
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington has a competent, friendly, and talented staff, and an outstanding relationship with its client-agencies. The main office is located in Spokane, a branch office is located in Yakima, and an unstaffed office is located in Richland. The office employs over 55 personnel, including approximately fifteen criminal Assistant United States Attorneys and approximately seven criminal support staff in the Spokane office.
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.
The office currently has an Assistant United States Attorney position available in the Criminal Division, Spokane office. The attorney selected will be part of a dedicated team assisting in the enforcement and prosecution of federal criminal laws. The primary assignments for this attorney be the investigation and prosecution of white collar fraud and economic crimes, but will also include a wide-range of criminal matters involving firearms, drug trafficking, immigration, counterfeiting, child exploitation, explosives, and violent crimes. This is a full-time, permanent position.
The office is located in Spokane in eastern Washington. The Eastern District of Washington is comprised of 20 counties and is bordered by Canada to the north, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and the summit of the Cascade Mountains to the west. This area is rich in rolling farm land, forested mountains, and arid desert. Because this area celebrates four distinct seasons, recreational opportunities are numerous and include, bicycling, hiking, snow skiing, water sports, fishing and hunting. More information on Spokane and its educational opportunities, medical facilities, arts, sports, etc., can be viewed on the internet at http://www.visitspokane.com.
Required qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 2 years post-J.D. experience. United States citizenship is required.
Preferred qualifications: Applicants must possess excellent research and writing skills, superior oral communication skills, and a demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment. Ideal applicants will possess significant trial or other relevant experience involving white collar fraud and/or economic crimes. Applicants must exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with attorney team leaders, attorneys, staff, and client agencies.
Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to: United States Attorneys Office, Attn: Kathy Devlin, Administrative Services Specialist, Post Office Box 1494, Spokane, Washington 99210-1494 (or 920 West Riverside Avenue, Suite 340, Spokane, WA 99201).
No telephone calls please. Applications must be received in the office or post-marked no later than April 28, 2015.
Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $45,477 to $120,365 plus locality pay where authorized.
* * *
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. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
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. See list of DPOCs.
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 (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). 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 (visit the OPM website, 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 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.