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Legal Careers

Assistant United States Attorney

Hiring Organization
USAO Southern District of Illinois
Job ID
15-SDIL-02
Location:
9 Executive Drive.
Fairview Heights, IL 62208 - United States
Application Deadline:
About the Office

The United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Southern District of Illinois (SDIL), is a fast-paced, collegial, and energetic office which seeks to maintain the highest standards of excellence in the enforcement of federal laws and the representation of the United States. Our headquarters are located in Fairview Heights, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, MO. Our branch offices are located in Benton and East St. Louis, in or near the federal courthouse. The office presently employs 32 attorneys and 30 support staff.

The Southern District of Illinois is comprised of the lower 38 counties of the State of Illinois and has a population of approximately 1.2 million. Our most populous counties, Madison and St. Clair, are adjacent to the Mississippi River and are within the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area.

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.

Job Description

This AUSA will serve as Prevention and Reentry Coordinator, in support of the Attorney General's Smart on Crime Initiative. This newly-created position does not involve traditional prosecution and case handling functions, but rather involves community problem-solving. The AUSA will be a motivated self-starter who builds collaborative, multi-disciplinary relationships with the court, probation, service providers, community organizations, law enforcement offices, and public defenders throughout the District with the goal of devising sustainable programs to deter crime and reduce recidivism. Together with the USAO's Law Enforcement Coordination staff, the Prevention and Reentry Coordinator will serve as a speaker and presenter to inmate populations, law enforcement, and civic and community groups to support evidence-based crime prevention and reentry initiatives. The Prevention and Reentry Coordinator will design and participate in intervention programs, to include pre-entry programs at correctional institutions and offender call-in programs. Case-related work will focus on diversionary and reentry programs, specialty courts, civil commitments, and post-sentence litigation, with particular focus on federal offenders who have completed incarceration but who are serving terms of supervised release. Case work also involves responding to post-conviction challenges filed by inmates at the district court and appellate level, to include petitions for habeas relief and applications for retroactive guideline adjustments.

Qualifications

Required qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school, be an active member in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction, and have at least 3 years post-J.D. legal or relevant experience. United States citizenship is required.

Preferred qualifications: A master's degree in criminology, criminal justice, or social work is preferred. A diversity of employment experience is preferred, such as prior employment as a police officer, probation or parole officer, correctional officer, mental health counselor, social worker, or addiction specialist.

Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic e-mail, word processing and visual presentation software systems.

Application Process

Cover letter, resume, and writing sample may be submitted by e-mail to: usails.hr@usdoj.gov

or by mail to: Lindsey Lester-Brutscher, Administrative Officer, United States Attorney's Office, 9 Executive Drive, Fairview Heights, IL 62208.

No telephone calls please. This vacancy announcement will remain open from May 22, 2015 to June 18, 2015.

Salary

The range of basic pay is $45,477 to $120,365 plus locality pay where authorized.

Number of Positions
One
Travel
Occasional travel to Columbia, SC for training or to Benton or Chicago, IL may be required.
Relocation Expenses
Relocation expenses are not authorized.

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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.

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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.

Updated April 7, 2016