ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
District of Alaska
08-AK-06
About the Office: The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska serves the entire state of Alaska with its main office in Anchorage and a branch office in Fairbanks. As the trial attorneys for the United States, the Assistant United States Attorneys in this office prosecute federal crimes and defend and pursue the interests of the United States in civil cases. Of the approximately 60 persons employed, all but three are currently assigned to Anchorage. The office is primarily divided into the Criminal Division, which has eighteen attorneys, and the Civil Division, which has four attorneys. This employment opportunity is in Anchorage in the Civil Division.
Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The successful candidate will be responsible for guiding civil litigation of affirmative suits in which the United States is seeking monetary recoveries pursuant to the False Claims Act, bankruptcy, asset forfeiture, and defensive suits against the United States brought on a variety of grounds including the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Assistant United States Attorneys work their cases from inception through appeal. Training is provided from both formal courses at the training facilities of the Department of Justice at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina and from experienced colleagues in the office.
Qualifications: Applicants must have excellent academic credentials, a J.D. degree, an active membership in good standing of the bar of any jurisdiction, at least two years post J.D. experience, superior analytical abilities, superior oral communications skills, excellent research and writing skills, good judgement and strong character. Applicants are expected to perform in a highly demanding environment while maintaining a supportive and professional demeanor with other attorneys, support staff and client agencies.
Travel: Occasional travel is required.
Salary Information: Assistant United. States Attorneys’ pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The starting pay range for this position is $45,000 to more than $100,000, depending upon experience, plus a 24% non-taxable cost of living allowance. As a federal employee, the successful candidate will be eligible to receive retirement, health, disability and life insurance, paid leave and several other types of benefits. Please see www.opm.gov to review the full list of federal employee benefits.
Location: Anchorage is in the south-central area of the largest, most geographically diverse and pristine land in the United States. It is surrounded by rugged mountains and waters that boast some of the highest tides in North America. World class down hill and cross country skiing, trophy fishing, big game photography and hunting, superb backpacking, ice climbing, day hiking, kayaking and rafting are within easy reach. In and around the city’s limits brown bears fish for salmon, beluga whales chase schools of hooligan, eagles and ravens soar year round and moose amble through neighborhoods and intra-city trails.
Surprisingly cosmopolitan and incredibly diverse, Anchorage is the cultural, medical care and entertainment center of Alaska. If this is not enough to convince you that Alaska is one of the greatest places on earth to live, then please consider that Alaska has no state income taxes and the State of Alaska pays its residents a yearly dividend!
Relocation Expenses: In accordance with applicable regulations, reimbursement of relocation expenses is not authorized.
Application Process and Deadline Date: Resumes must be received by June 1, 2008, prior to the close of business. Previously submitted resumes and applications will not be reviewed. All resumes must be accompanied by a cover letter explaining your interest in the position. Please do not call the office. Please send your resume and cover letter to:
Nelson P. Cohen
United States Attorney
222 West 7th Avenue, #9, Room 253
Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7567
ATTN: Traci Ross, Secretary to the U.S. Attorney
Internet Sites: 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.