Special Assistant United States Attorney (Uncompensated)
United States Attorney's Office, District of Maryland
Vacancy Announcement Number: 11-MD-03
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland is seeking applications from attorneys who are willing to accept unpaid temporary positions that offer a valuable opportunity to gain exposure to the office while also obtaining litigation experience and attending trials. Successful applicants will serve as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) with responsibilities that include researching legal issues, drafting briefs, providing support at hearings and trials, and attending judicial proceedings. These positions require a minimum commitment of six months and may continue for up to one year. SAUSAs will not be hired by this office as Assistant U.S. Attorneys at the conclusion of their SAUSA terms. They may apply for AUSA positions in the office after completing their service as SAUSAs.
Only applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and writing skills will be considered. Applications must include a copy of the applicant's law school transcript and specify the jurisdiction in which the attorney is an active bar member. Any applicant invited for an interview will be required to submit a writing sample.
Prior litigation experience is preferred, but the positions are open to lawyers who are finishing judicial clerkships and to highly qualified lawyers who have recently graduated from law school.
Information about the Office is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/.
Number Of Positions: Up to 4 positions (3 Criminal, 1 Civil)
Duty Locations: 36 S. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 6500 Cherrywood Lane, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Application Deadline: Open and Continuous
Application Materials: Please submit a cover letter, resume and copy of your law school transcript to the following email address: usamd.jobs@usdoj.gov. No telephone calls please. We will contact you if we believe an interview is appropriate or if further information is required.
Qualifications: An applicant must be a U.S. citizen who possesses a J.D. degree from a law school approved by the American Bar Association and is an active member in good standing of a bar (any U.S. jurisdiction).
Security Requirements: A limited background investigation will be conducted on all applicants who are hired. This includes fingerprints and a credit check.
Minimum Service Agreement: 6 (Six) Months
Salary: Positions are 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 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.
Assignments: These SAUSAs will be assigned to work with Assistant U.S. Attorneys on a variety of criminal or civil matters. The SAUSAs will research legal issues, draft pleadings and briefs, provide support at hearings and trials, and attend different court proceedings.
Department Policies: 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.
Employment is 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).