Assistant United States Attorney

USAO Southern District of Georgia
Attorney
22 Barnard Street
Savannah, GA 31401
United States
22-GAS-AUSA-04
About the Office: 

The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Southern District of Georgia is a fast-paced, collegial, and energetic office which seeks to maintain the highest standards of excellence in representing the United States. The office prosecutes cases involving violations of federal law and represents the United States government in criminal and civil matters.

The Southern District of Georgia encompasses 43 counties, located in the southeastern region of the state, and presently employs 57 federal    employees, to include 28 Assistant United States Attorneys. The headquarters office is located in Savannah, Georgia and the branch office is in  Augusta, Georgia.

For more information about the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdga

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: 

The District is seeking applications from energetic, self-motivated, hard-working, and qualified attorneys for the position of Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) to serve in the Financial Litigation Program ("FLP," previously known as the Financial Litigation Unit) in the Asset Recovery Unit of the Civil Division our Savannah, GA location. The AUSA will be part of a dedicated team working to enforce federal criminal monetary penalties, including restitution, fines, and special assessments, as well as providing expert advice on restitution, enforcement remedies, and the rights of crime victims under federal law. This will include, but not be limited to, post-judgment debt collection, pre-judgment assistance to prosecuting AUSAs to identify assets that could be collected to satisfy monetary penalties and may involve larger development of the FLP program.

This is a TERM position not-to-exceed 18 months. This position may be extended and/or made permanent without further competition.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

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.

Residency Requirements: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information.

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. Positions may be filled in the Savannah or Augusta, GA locations.

Qualifications: 

 

Required Qualifications:
Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), have at least one year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience, and possess superior oral and written communication skills as well as strong interpersonal skills, exhibit good judgment, and have demonstrated the capacity to function with minimal guidance in a highly demanding environment.

Preferred Qualifications:
Experience litigating criminal or civil cases in the federal sector or in the federal courts. Experience in a Financial Litigation Program or Financial Litigation Unit within the Department of Justice, and/or knowledge of, laws governing federal criminal restitution and financial litigation (including the Federal Debt Collections Procedures Act) is desirable. Experience working collaboratively with a wide variety of attorneys and non-attorney professionals is also preferred.

United States citizenship is required.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Salary: 
Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $66,214.00 to $173,189.00 which includes 16.2% locality pay.
Travel: 
Occasional travel within and outside the District will be required.
Application Process: 

Recruitment for this positioy 11:59 (EST) on July 15, 2022.

Applicants must provide a complete application pack

n (22-GAS-AUSA-04) is open Friday, July 1, 2022 through 11:59 (EST) on Friday, July 11, 2022. This announcement has been extended to July 15, 2022

Applications for this position must be submitted to USAGAS.AUSA.Resumes@usdoj.gov by 11:59 (EST) on July 15, 2022.

Applicants must provide a complete application package which includes:

1. Required - Your detailed resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include month/year)

2. Required - Cover Letter

3. Required - Writing Sample; not to exceed 15 pages

4. Required - A list of significant cases tried to verdict, either jury or non-jury, as lead counsel or second chair.

5. Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary; and a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.

6. Required, if applicable - To receive Veterans' Preference, you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. 

The point of contact for this Vacancy Announcement is Lucia Depenhart, who can be reached at 912-201-2597 or lucia.depenhart@usdoj.gov

 

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Application Deadline: 
Friday, July 15, 2022
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Number of Positions: 
1
Updated July 14, 2022

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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.