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Legal Careers

Assistant United States Attorney

Hiring Organization
USAO Middle District of Louisiana
Hiring Office
Criminal Division
Job ID
18-MDLA-04
Location:
777 Florida Street, Suite 208
Baton Rouge, LA 70801 - United States
Application Deadline:
About the Office

The United States Attorney's Office prosecutes federal offenses in the criminal division and defends the U. S. Government's interest in the Civil division cases. The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, serves 9 parishes including: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Point Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana Parish. All located in the Southern Middle portion of the State of Louisiana.

Internet Sites: The homepage for the U. S. Attorney's Office in Baton Rouge, LA can be accessed at: http://www.justice.gov/usao/lam/index.html

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

This is a temporary term attorney position that can be extended or made permanent without further competition. This vacancy is located in the Criminal Division and the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) will have the responsibility to investigate and prosecute a wide variety of complex cases to include drug trafficking crimes, corruption, firearms, miscellaneous other violent criminal offenses, health care fraud, and white-collar offenses. The 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 minimal supervision

This is a term attorney position for a term of 14 months from the entry on duty (EOD) date.  This position may be extended or made permanent without further competition.

Qualifications

Required qualifications: (This announcement is for at least one and possibly multiple term(temporary) attorney positions.) Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any United States of America jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. experience.

Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability and the faculty 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 have a demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment. United States citizenship is required.

Any U. S. citizen may apply. If you recently applied for attorney positions in this district with different announcement numbers you will need to reapply as your previous application will not be considered during this selection.

Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment 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.

Application Process

An application package for a position with this office should include a letter of application, a detailed description of employment history on the resume, to include dates of employment (month/year). Also, a legal writing sample (on 8 1/2 X 11 sized paper; no legal sized submissions) and an official law school transcript. The writing sample should be provided in single sheets no bindings except paper clips/clasps. The submission should be the applicant's exclusive work product. If the writing sample was edited, or if there were other contributors, applicants are expected to identify those portions of the writing sample not exclusively their own work product and the extent of editing done by others. If applicable add proof of any claimed military veteran status.  Applicants may also submit letters of reference from persons recommending appointment. If you recently applied for attorney positions in this district with different announcement numbers you will need to reapply as your previous application will not be considered during this selection.

Applications must be postmarked no later than Friday, August 24, 2018 to be considered.

Please mail your application package/resume to:

Collins W. Harper, Human Resources
United States Attorney's Office
777 Florida Street, Suite 208
Baton Rouge, LA 70801

Please include the full vacancy announcement number listed and located at the top of this announcement (18-MDLA-04) on your resume and cover letter. No telephone calls or emails please .

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 is $53,062.00 to $138,790.00 plus locality-pay where authorized.

Number of Positions
This announcement is to fill multiple positions; based on the needs of the office.
Travel
Frequent travel may be required.
Relocation Expenses
Relocation expenses may be authorized.

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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.

Updated August 14, 2018