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Legal Careers

Assistant United States Attorney

Hiring Organization
USAO Eastern District of Virginia
Hiring Office
Civil Division
Job ID
16-EDVA-07
Location:
World Trade Center
101 West Main Street, Suite 8000
Norfolk, VA 23510 - United States
Application Deadline:
About the Office

The United States Attorney (U.S. Attorney) for the Eastern District of Virginia has four offices which are located in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.  Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) are assigned to each of these offices to represent federal interests in civil and criminal cases.  The district consists of more than 19,000 square miles and has a population of 5,730,000.  The Norfolk Office is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, which is named after one of the world’s largest natural harbors, is steeped in 400 years of American history, has one of the world’s largest concentrations of military bases and facilities in a metropolitan area, and contains hundreds of miles of waterfront property and beaches.  Its numerous federal facilities include a Veteran Affairs hospital, three military hospitals, community health centers, Coast Guard installations, more than twelve military installations including the largest naval base in the United States, NASA Langley Research Center and the Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.  Local attractions such as the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown; Busch Gardens; Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge; Great Dismal Swap National Wildlife Refuge, First Landing State Park, and Virginia Beach bring millions of tourists to the area each year.  The area also has a thriving music scene, and a variety of performing arts and sports venues.

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

An appointment as an AUSA with the U.S. Attorney's Office offers unique and challenging experiences for highly motivated attorneys:  an opportunity to work on their own caseload and handle their own trials and appeals. This position is in the Civil Division where AUSAs represent the United States' interest in the trial and appellate courts for a wide variety of federal and state litigation, including admiralty, bankruptcy, civil rights, collections, commercial, constitutional, employment, environmental, federal program, fraud, immigration, medical malpractice, prisoner, social security, summons enforcement, tax, and general tort cases.  The attorney selected for this position primarily will be devoted to defending the United States' interests in such litigation.

All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.  Temporary appointments may or may not be made permanent without further competition.

Qualifications

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

Preferred qualifications: Experience in medical malpractice, general tort and employment discrimination cases, federal litigation, and/or a federal judicial clerkship is desired.

United States citizenship is required.

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.

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.

Application Process

Please send your resume to:

Coleene Rychalski

United States Attorney's Office

Eastern District of Virginia

2100 Jamieson Avenue

Alexandria, VA 22314

No telephone calls please.  Positions are open until filled, but resumes must be received by May 2, 2016.  Please include the vacancy announcement number listed at the top of this announcement (16-EDVA-07) on your resume and all correspondence.

Salary

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 for these positions will be $51,811 to $135,519, plus locality pay.

Number of Positions
One
Travel
Travel within and outside the District may be required, but should be minimal.
Relocation Expenses
Relocation expenses will not be authorized.

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 April 22, 2016