Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney
Suite 600
Atlanta, GA 30303 - United States
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 U.S. Government's interest in civil cases. The United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, is located in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to the main office in downtown Atlanta, we maintain three intermittently staffed offices located in Rome, Newnan, and Gainesville. More information about the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.
The Northern District of Georgia is currently seeking applicants for a permanent Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) opening in our Civil Division. All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Civil AUSAs have the privilege of standing in Court and stating that they represent the United States of America. The selected Civil AUSA will be handling a wide range of civil litigation, including defensive litigation and affirmative civil enforcement on behalf of government agencies located in the district. The selected Civil AUSA will exercise a high degree of autonomy and enjoy firsthand litigation experience in representing the United States including handling depositions, motion practice, hearings, mediations, trials and appeals. Civil AUSAs develop litigation strategies for their own cases with support from supervisors and experienced Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
This position is located in the Civil Division which includes the following sections and units:
Defensive Litigation involves defending an array of civil cases brought against the United States, its agencies, and its employees. Cases include employment discrimination; personal injury/tort; medical malpractice claims arising out of Veterans' hospitals or other federally funded health facilities; Bivens actions; Freedom of Information Act challenges; and claims related to decisions by immigration authorities as to legal status, deportation or detention of aliens.
Affirmative Civil Enforcement Litigation ACE cases are most often brought for the United States under the False Claims Act and involve allegations of health care fraud, procurement fraud, grant fraud and financial fraud. The cases are frequently associated with parallel criminal proceedings, requiring coordination between the ACE AUSA and the criminal AUSA. ACE AUSAs also represent the United States in the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act as well civil rights laws.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1* year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
Preferred Qualifications: 3-years post-J.D. (or equivalent) legal or other relevant experience.
Hiring preferences include significant civil litigation experience, although we consider applicants with a variety of litigation backgrounds that demonstrate analytical ability, judgment, and advocacy skills. Candidates must possess a strong academic background, superior legal writing and research ability, and a commitment to professionalism, ethics, civility, and public service. Finally, preferred candidates must possess the ability to manage large, complex cases and investigations.
United States citizenship is required.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
You must apply online at: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/843900400 Please be sure to read the announcement through its entirety prior to applying.
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
• Required - Responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
• Required- Resume (Include relevant experience and dates of employment in date/month/year format. 1-2 pages preferred.)
• Required- Cover letter (1 page preferred.)
• Required- Writing sample (Please provide a recent legal writing sample, such as a pretrial or dispositive motion or response, appellate brief, or sentencing memorandum, of 10-20 pages that was not heavily edited by others. You may submit an excerpt from a longer piece.)
• Required, if applicable-To get 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. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section for details regarding what is appropriate Veterans' Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.
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 conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Assistant United States Attorneys pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $78,189 to $195,100 which includes 23.79% locality pay.
Department Policies
The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. To learn more, please visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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.
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.