Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA)

USAO Southern District of Florida
West Palm Beach Branch Office
Attorney
500 S. Australian Avenue
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
United States
23-SDFL-AUSA-03
About the Office: 

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), Southern District of Florida (SDFL) is seeking an experienced attorney to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in one of the largest USAOs in the nation.  

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the District. The Southern District of Florida encompasses a geographical area of approximately 15,197 square miles extending south to Key West, north to Sebastian and west to Sebring. The Southern District includes the counties of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO) is organized as follows: Executive Division, Administrative Division, Criminal Division (which consist of different sections as set forth below), Civil Division, Asset Forfeiture Division, and Appellate Division. The USAO’s main office is in Miami in the heart of the downtown area and close to several public transportation means, such as Brightline, Government Metro-Rail Station and Metro Mover. The USAO has staffed branch offices in Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Ft. Pierce. It has an unstaffed office in Key West. 

The Criminal Division is further divided into Sections: Major Crimes, Economic & Environmental Crimes, International Narcotics and Money Laundering, National Security, Public Corruption & Civil Rights, Special Prosecutions and Collateral Litigation. The USAO-SDFL is a leader in the prosecution of federal criminal law, including of health care fraud, bank and other white-collar frauds, environmental, narcotics offenses, firearms, child exploration, human trafficking cases, public corruption, and national security matters. 

The Appellate Division provides advice and assistance to the litigation sections in appellate matters and handles all appeals before the Eleventh Circuit.

The Asset Forfeiture Division handles some of the most significant and complex forfeiture cases in the nation using criminal and civil forfeiture statutes to take the profit out of crime and, in many cases, return assets to victims.

The Civil Division defends the interest of the United States from suits alleging statutory torts, constitutional torts, employment discrimination, and a myriad of other claims. The Civil Division also prosecutes cases for fraud and other violations of federal laws and collects monies owed to the government as a result of criminal fines, defaulted student loans, mortgage foreclosures, bond forfeitures and civil judgments. The division’'s civil rights enforcement program investigates and litigates cases involving discrimination in housing, public employment, disability, voting and education. There are also three branch offices located in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce.

The office provides a variety of employee benefits, vacation time, transit subsidy and opportunity for telework determined by the agency. 

There are several restaurants, museums, beaches, and shopping establishment near-by.    

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 incumbent will represent the U.S. Government as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in a wide range of unique and complex criminal cases, in a District that extends over 300 miles from Key West to Vero Beach. The Southern District of Florida carries one of the busiest criminal trial dockets in the nation.  Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14-month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

Qualifications: 

Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction, in good standing), and have at least 1-year post J.D. experience or other relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications: Prior experience in criminal investigations and prosecutions is preferred.  Applicants should possess superior oral and written communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, and the capacity to function in a highly demanding environment with minimal guidance. The successful candidate should have strong academic credentials and at least 3 years of post J.D. experience.

Key Requirements: You must be a U.S. Citizen or National and be registered for Selective Service, if applicable. See www.sss.gov.

Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication.  This includes a fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing.  In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation. 

Following appointment, Assistant U.S. Attorneys must reside in the district to which they are appointed.

Salary: 
Assistant United States Attorneys’ pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of pay is AD 21-29, $112,298.00 through $183,400.00, which includes a 24.14% locality adjustment.
Travel: 
May require travel, both within and outside the district, as needed.
Application Process: 

Reference the vacancy number: 23-SDFL-AUSA-03 on the subject line.

A cover letter, resume and a writing sample must be submitted by email to: USAFLS-AUSAResumes@usdoj.gov. Electronic submission of applications is preferred, however, if doing so creates a hardship, applications may be sent by mail to the following address:

United States Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Florida
99 NE 4th Street
Miami, Florida 33132
Attention: Attorney Recruitment
No telephone calls please.

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.

Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation of Expenses will not be authorized.
Number of Positions: 
Several. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
Updated March 24, 2023

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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.