Assistant United States Attorney

USAO Southern District of California
Financial Litigation Unit
Attorney
DOJ/USAO
880 Front Street, Room 6293
San Diego, CA 92101
United States
15-SDCA-19724-6-AUSA02
About the Office: 

The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California is one of the largest in the country. The office prosecutes federal crimes and defends the interests of the United States Government in civil cases. The Southern District of California encompasses San Diego and Imperial Counties and includes a branch office located in El Centro, California.

The SDCA is home to the largest concentration of Navy and Marine Corps installations in the world. The entire Southern boundary of the District borders the Republic of Mexico. Contained within the district are international ports of entry at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico (two ports, East and West) and Andrade. The entire west boundary of the District lies on the Pacific Ocean, with a major port in San Diego.

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 U.S. Attorney's Office is currently interviewing for positions in the Financial Litigation Unit (FLU) of the Criminal Division. The Financial Litigation Unit's primary responsibility is to ensure pre-judgment identification and freezing of assets, as well as post-judgement recovery of said assets to pay fines and restitution in criminal cases. The FLU Unit is also responsible for affirmative civil actions to recover debt owed to federal agencies. The FLU is a unit of the Criminal Division, but the work is a hybrid of civl and criminal litigation. The AUSA will support the permanent FLU AUSA Coordinator in the pursuit of civil cases such as enforcement of federal agency debt, actions against fraudulent conveyances, investigation through the use of depositions, subpoenas, and judgment debtor examinations, and representation of the U.S. as a judgement creditor in bankruptcy matters. The FLU criminal casework includes supporting criminal AUSAs on a wide variety of cases arising from enforcement of federal law including financial fraud, child exploitation, immigration, narcotics and violent crime offenses, as well as charging fraud arising from recovery and restitution matters. Both the civil and criminal FLU litigation requires robust motion practice. The FLU AUSA is one of the district's subject matter experts on issues relating to restitution and asset recovery for victims, and is responsible for providing advice and training to other AUSAs.

Note:  This is an open continous announcement to fill current and future vacancies  The position is open until filled.

 

Qualifications: 

Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, and be currently an active member of the state bar in order to be considered. Proof of an active bar membership is required. One full year of post-graduate legal experience is required.

Preferred Qualifications: Applicant with Civil Litigation and/or Bankruptcy experience is preferred.

Hiring preference include strong academics, outstanding organizational skills, superior legal writing and research ability, demonstrated analytical ability, good judgement and courtroom skills and a 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 in a case. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and writing skills, as well as strong research and interpersonal skills and good judgment. Applicants must possess excellent communication and courtroom skills and exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies. 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.

 AUSAs are given training by the U.S. Department of Justice and by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Appointment is subject to FBI Background investigation, including credit, arrest, reference and drug use inquiries.

 

 

Salary: 
: $66,447.00 through $161,800.00 based upon the number of years of attorney experience.
Travel: 
Occasional travel both within and outside the district may be required.
Application Process: 

Applications must be submitted through the following link:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/471847900

You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

-Required-Your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire Online (online or 1203-FX)

-Required-Your cover letter and resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day, month, year)

-Required-if applicable- Veteran's Preference Documentation (see Benefits and Other Information Section on the job announcement on the link above for details)

-Required-You will have to upload two (2) Legal Writing Samples. Please attach this document as an "Other" document.

-Required- The Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Application Form found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/assistant-u-s-attorney-positions

(under the Application Form Section in Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word). Please attach this document as an "Other" document.

The point of contact for this Vacancy Announcement is Nitza Williamson, who can be reached at 619-546-9273 or nitza.williamson@usdoj.gov

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: 
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
Number of Positions: 
1
Updated June 12, 2017

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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.