Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney
Scranton, PA 18501 - United States
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania consists of 33 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, making it geographically the largest district in the state. The district, which runs from the New York border on the north, to the Maryland border on the south, encompasses approximately 21,907 square miles, or roughly 47% of the land mass of Pennsylvania, with over 3 million people. While much of the district is rural in character, it contains the following major population centers: Harrisburg, the State Capital, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, York, Lebanon, and State College. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has three offices: Scranton, Harrisburg and Williamsport. Within this large, and diverse judicial district, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania represents the Department of Justice and other federal agencies in all litigation, civil and criminal, conducted within the District in which the United States, or a federal agency, is a party.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is seeking applications from experienced attorneys to fill an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) position. AUSAs in the Criminal Division have the opportunity to represent the interests of the United States in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in a wide variety of complex cases involving drug trafficking, money laundering, firearms and other violent offenses, cyber crimes, public corruption, terrorism, financial fraud, crimes against children, human trafficking, and environmental crimes, among others.
This announcement will be used to fill one immediate position in Williamsport, PA. However, depending on the needs of the office, additional positions may be filled with this announcement.
United States citizenship is required.
Applicants must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school, be an active member in good standing of the bar of a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia and have at least three years post-J.D. litigation experience.
Preferred applicants will possess substantial and specialized experience in handling a variety of complex criminal litigation in federal or state court. Preferred applicants will also demonstrate superior oral and written communications skills, possess the ability to work as part of a team, with an emphasis on working well with client agencies. Applicants should demonstrate well developed computer skills, have strong character and interpersonal skills, and demonstrate the capacity to function with minimal guidance in a highly demanding environment.
Applicants should fill out the Middle District of Pennsylvania’s supplemental questionnaire, and attach it to their application, submitted through the USAJobs on-line system, along with a cover letter and resume’. The supplemental questionnaire may be accessed on the Middle District of Pennsylvania’s web-site below.
The home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/usao/districts/pam.html
Applications must be submitted through the USAJobs on-line application system. Mailed applications will not be accepted.
The USAJobs vacancy announcement is 17-PAM-1852876-AUSA and can be found at: www.usajobs.gov
Resumes should include a detailed description of employment history, to include dates of employment (month/year).
This announcement will be open starting November 25, 2016 and closing December 16, 2016. Due to the large volume of applications this office receives, we will not confirm receipt of resumes.
$45,932.00 to $135,519.00 plus locality pay where 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.