Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney (Civil)
4th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201 - United States
The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland serves as the chief representative of the United States in federal court in Maryland. The USAO's Civil Division is charged with pursuing justice and protecting the interests of the United States in federal court. The USAO is seeking experienced attorneys to serve as Civil Assistant United States Attorneys to help discharge this mission. These positions will be located in the USAO's Baltimore office.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland is seeking applications from experienced attorneys who have superb research and writing skills, as well as, a civil litigation background to fill a few Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) vacancies in the Civil Division.
If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! With a talented workforce of over 100,000 people, the mission of the Department of Justice is to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights. You will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal civil laws that protect life, liberty and the property of citizens.
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.
For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/careers/careers.html
As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
An appointment with the U.S. Attorney's Office offers unique and challenging experiences for the highly motivated attorney.
These positions are in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland (USAO-MD). The Civil Division handles defensive civil litigation involving claims made against the United States and federal agencies. The Civil Division also handles affirmative civil enforcement investigations and suits under the False Claims Act and related statutes.
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 1 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
Preferred applicants will possess at least 2 years of substantial experience in handling a variety of complex civil litigation. The preferred applicant will have substantial experience in complex civil litigation, including motions practice, serving and responding to discovery, settlement negotiations, trials, and appeals. Preferred applicants will demonstrate superior oral and written communications skills; and, possess the ability to work as part of a team, with an emphasis on working well with client agencies. Applicants should have strong character and interpersonal skills and demonstrate the capacity to function with minimal guidance in a highly demanding environment.
Applicants will conduct 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, electronic e-mail, and word processing systems.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
Cover letters are not required but are appreciated to provide further context of the applicants work history and desire to join the district.
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 conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
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 conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
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 $84,601 to $195,100.00 which includes the 33.94% locality pay.
Department Policies
The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. To learn more, please visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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.
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.