Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney
Concord, NH 03301 - United States
If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! With diverse and talented workforce of over 100,000 men and women, Justice leads the Nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. You will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal and civil laws that protect life, liberty and the property of citizens
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire is located in Concord, New Hampshire, the state capital. Concord is centrally located in the southern third of the state and is 70 miles north of Boston, 45 miles west of the seacoast and 60 miles east of the Vermont border. The city's population is slightly more than 40,000.
New Hampshire has a population of over one million people and is a wonderful place to live. The state offers year-round opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts and provides ready access to skiing, hiking, and other activities. The state includes many small and vibrant towns and its population benefits from the state's lack of a sales or income tax.
The United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire prosecutes all criminal and civil cases brought by the Federal government and defends the United States when it is a party in a civil case. The office has a very dedicated staff, which includes approximately 20 Assistant United States Attorneys and approximately 24 non-attorney staff members. The majority of the Assistant United States Attorneys are in the Criminal Division, while four Assistant United States Attorneys are in the civil division.
Information regarding the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Hampshire, can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh
This position will remain open until filled. Applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis, however, applications received by March 30, 2018 will receive first consideration.
For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/careers/careers.html
Additional positions may be filled using this announcement as needed.
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.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is currently accepting applications for the position of Assistant United States Attorney to serve in the Criminal Division.
Employment with the U.S. Attorney's Office offers a unique and challenging experience for the highly- motivated attorney who is interested in public service. Working in the Criminal Division, you will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal laws that protect life, liberty and property.
The District prosecutes a full range of federal criminal cases. Assistant United States Attorneys in the Criminal Division are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of cases that include drug crimes; violent crimes; firearms offenses; child exploitation crimes; human trafficking; organized crime; terrorism; white collar crime, including wire and mail fraud, healthcare fraud, and mortgage fraud; criminal immigration matters; and general crimes. The qualified applicant would be expected to (a) assist federal law enforcement agents in structuring and implementing criminal investigative plans and strategies; (b) actively participate in grand jury proceedings, including the presentation of witnesses before the grand jury; and (c) litigate cases of moderate to high complexity from start to finish with limited supervision.
All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a time-limited (temporary) basis. Temporary appointments may be extended or made permanent without further competition.
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 2 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
Preferred Qualifications: The District seeks attorneys who have outstanding legal ability, excellent writing skills, strong communication and interpersonal skills, high moral character, and mature judgment. Litigation experience, including criminal trial experience, is strongly preferred. Experience in federal court also is preferred. Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least two (2) years post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
Applications may be submitted online through the following:
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/492203500
The deadline to apply is February 22, 2019 at 11:59p.m. If unable to apply online, the announcement provides instructions on faxing your documents in the "How to Apply" tab.
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 who have lived outside the United States for two or more of the past five years will likely have difficulty being approved for appointments by the Department Security Staff. The two-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.
Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $67,643.00 to $164,100.00 which includes locality pay.
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Evaluation Method:
Once your complete application package is received, it will be reviewed to ensure you meet all job requirements. An attorney interview panel will then review all qualified applicants and make recommendations for invitation to interview. You will be notified if selected for an interview.
Veterans' Preference: 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 indicate their preference in response to the appropriate question in their assessment questionnaire (it is also recommended that information is included in their cover letter or resume) and they must submit supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) which verifies their eligibility for preference. 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, http://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 his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
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 targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume@benderconsult.com (link sends e-mail) and referencing "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com (link is external). Individuals with disabilities may also contact one of the Department's Disability Points of Contact (DPOC). See list of DPOCs.
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
Required - Your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire.
- Required - Your resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day/month/year). (cover letter optional).
- Required - A writing sample and, in addition, a copy of a recent substantive motion or other legal document written by you which has been filed in court. All writing samples must be your own work product. The writing sample should be no more than 20 pages and must clearly address at least one substantive legal issue. If you previously submitted a resume application package to any prior attorney position announcements, you will need to resubmit an application package to be considered for this vacancy.
- Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary; and a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.
- 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 under the "Qualifications and Evaluations" Tab above 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.
- The point of contact for this vacancy announcement is Holly Boyson, Human Resources Specialist, who can be reached at holly.boyson@usdoj.gov or (603) 230-2544.
$67,643.00 to $164,100.00 Per Year
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.