Assistant United States Attorney

USAO Northern District of Texas
Civil Section
Attorney
1100 Commerce Street, 3rd Floor
Dallas, TX 75242
United States
16-NDTX-AUSA-1735609 CG
About the Office: 

The Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas is the principal federal prosecution authority for the North Texas area, with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Abilene, and Amarillo.  The Civil Division is charged with defending agencies of the United States, enforcing regulatory agency authority, and recovering funds from violators of U.S. criminal, regulatory, and civil laws.  The Criminal Division of our office prosecutes all federal crimes in our jurisdiction, including acts of terrorism, public corruption, white-collar crime, organized crime, gang activities, internet-related crimes, and many other criminal offenses.  The Appellate Division represents the United States in criminal cases on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, responds to post-conviction litigation, and keeps the district informed of developments in the law.

This position is located in Dallas, Texas and will serve in the Civil division.

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 Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) will serve in the Civil Division of the Dallas Office, and will work on both affirmative and defensive civil matters.  The successful applicant will lead affirmative civil fraud investigations and prosecutions to assert and protect the interests of the United States (e.g., enforcement of health care, procurement, environmental, public safety, fair housing and Government program fraud laws).  The successful applicant also will be responsible for representing the United States in a wide variety of defensive matters brought against the federal government and its agencies, including employment discrimination, medical malpractice, general torts, constitutional torts, immigration, prisoner, and commercial litigation.

Qualifications: 

Required qualifications:  Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 3 years post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.  Qualified legal experience may include work as an AUSA, a judicial law clerk in either federal or state court, and/or litigation experience in either the private or public sector.

Preferred qualifications:  Ideal qualifications include at least 3-5 years of post-J.D. litigation experience.  Hiring preferences include some courtroom or deposition experience, strong academics, outstanding organizational skills, superior legal writing and research ability, and a demonstrated commitment to professionalism, ethics, civility, and public service.  Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability and the facility to accurately and precisely articulate the critical issues involved with a case.  Applicants must display strong interpersonal skills and good judgment.  Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings.  Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic e-mail and word processing systems.

United States Citizenship is required.  Must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

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 for this position is $62,712.00 to $147,147.00 which includes 21.04% locality pay.
Travel: 
Occasional travel may be required for training purposes. Occasional local travel may be required, especially between our Dallas and Fort Worth offices.
Application Process: 

Applications may be submitted online through the following link: http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/442725600 

You must provide a complete application package which includes:

  • Your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire;
  • Cover letter (optional);
  • Your resume showing relevant experience salary, and dates of employment (include day/month/year);
  • Writing sample

If unable to apply online, the announcement provides instructions on faxing your application in the "How To Apply" tab.

 

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 8, 2016
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Number of Positions: 
1
Updated June 23, 2016

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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.