Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney
Suite 1650
Charlotte, NC 28202 - United States
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina is based in Charlotte. The District includes a staffed branch office in Asheville; covering the 32 western counties in North Carolina. The Criminal Division in Western North Carolina handles some of the most sophisticated and interesting criminal matters in the country. For example, we routinely prosecute international drug cartels, violent organized gangs, and as the third largest banking center in the country, we prosecute some of the most complex securities, corporate, and financial fraud matters in the Department of Justice. The Western District has extensive federal lands, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, and excellent federal and local law enforcement partnerships.
The United States Attorney’s Office prosecutes federal criminal offenses, seeks recovery of government funds fraudulently obtained, litigates affirmative civil fraud and enforcement actions, and defends the United States Government’s interest.
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 United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina is accepting applications for a trial attorney in the Criminal Division in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a member of the Criminal Division, attorneys are responsible for the prosecution of a variety of crimes under federal law including violent crimes, fraud, public corruption, illegal immigration, child pornography, human trafficking, drug violations, firearms violations, terrorism and asset forfeiture. The applicant selected for this position will spend substantial time developing, researching, and preparing cases involving violent crimes.
The Criminal AUSA position offers a unique and challenging experience for a highly motivated team player with the desire to litigate extensively. Applicants must demonstrate analytical ability, good judgment, organizational skills, excellent writing, and communication and courtroom skills. In addition, applicants must exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with courthouse personnel, other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as training and experience progress.
This is a permanent position; however, all initial attorney positions are filled on a 14-month (temporary) basis, pending adjudication of the background investigation.
Security requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Required Qualifications:Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction, in good standing), and have at least three (3) years post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
United States citizenship if required.
Preferred Qualification: Hiring preferences include at least five (5) years of criminal litigation experience, although we consider applicants with a variety of litigation backgrounds. Applicants must have a demonstrated capacity to function with minimal supervision in a highly demanding work environment. A record of academic excellence, experience as a federal or state law clerk, at least five years of experience as a criminal prosecutor in state and/or federal court, and a strong desire to practice in North Carolina. In addition, an applicant should have broad experience planning and executing case strategy in a variety of criminal cases. Finally, the ideal applicant should possess superior communication and courtroom skills, exhibit exceptional research and writing ability, and demonstrate strong interpersonal and professional skills. Applicants must also exhibit the ability to work with other attorneys, support staff and client agencies in a professional manner while functioning in a highly demanding work environment.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
To view the full vacancy announcement and to apply for this position, click on the link below:
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/572705300
Complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section of the announcement.
Your resume should show experience and full dates of employment (mm/dd/yyyy), and the state, month, and year of your earliest BAR admission.
Assistant United States Attorneys’ pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of pay for this position is $64,835 to $152,118.00 per year, which includes 17.44% locality pay.
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 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.
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.
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.
Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
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.
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).
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.