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Legal Careers

Assistant United States Attorney

Hiring Organization
USAO Western District of Louisiana
Hiring Office
LAFAYETTE CRIMINAL DIVISION
Job ID
22-WDLA-AUSA-004
Location:
300 FANNIN STREET, SUITE 3201
SHREVEPORT, LA 71101 - United States
Application Deadline:
About the Office

The United States Attorney's office for the Western District of Louisiana serves 42 of the state's 64 parishes. It is bordered by Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, the Mississippi River to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Geographically, the district encompasses two-thirds of the State of Louisiana. The main office is located in Shreveport, Louisiana, with a staffed, second office of equal size in Lafayette. There are also unstaffed, satellite offices in Alexandria, Monroe, and Lake Charles.

The United States Attorney's Office is responsible for federal criminal prosecutions and civil cases involving the United States Government. Our mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States, provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and to administer and enforce the Nation's laws to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

Our office places a high value on diversity of experiences and perspectives and encourages applications from all qualified individuals from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, veterans, LGBT individuals, and persons with disabilities.

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 United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana, is seeking an Assistant U.S. Attorneys to serve in the Criminal Division. The vacancy will be located in the Lafayette office. Attorneys in the Criminal Division are  responsible for the prosecution of all types of crimes under federal law ranging from complex white-collar crime, public corruptions, investment schemes, illegal immigration and alien smuggling, drug trafficking, firearms violations and violent crime.  

Qualifications

Required qualifications: Applicant must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) in good standing and have at least one year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.  Preferred qualifications: Ideal applicants should demonstrate superior communication and courtroom skills, exhibit exceptional research and writing ability, perform thorough legal and factual analysis, demonstrate strong interpersonal  skills, and exercise good judgment. Applicants should have a strong work ethic and demonstrated capacity to function, with minimum guidance, in a highly demanding environment while balancing a heavy case load.

Application Process

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample, unofficial law school transcripts and any other required supporting documentation to the mail or email address below. Please include the vacancy  announcement number 22-WDLA-AUSA-004 on your cover letter and resume. The closing date of this announcement is December 19, 2022. All applications must be received at this office no later than 11 :59 p.m. (CST), December 19,  2022 in order to be considered.

Please send your resume to:
Attn: HR Office
Brandon B. Brown
United States Attorney
300 Fannin Street, Suite 3201
Shreveport LA 71101

or

USALAW.HRO@usdoj.gov (Please use .pdf format for emailed documents}.
No telephone calls please. Position will be open until December 19, 2022.

Salary

Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $56,983.00 to $133,701 plus locality pay currently at 16.20%.

Number of Positions
1
Travel
Occasional travel both within and outside the Western District of Louisiana will be required.
Relocation Expenses
Relocation expenses will not be paid.

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.

Updated December 13, 2022