Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney (Civil)
Miami, FL 33132 - United States
The United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Southern District of Florida (SDFL) is seeking several experienced attorneys to serve as a Civil Assistant United States Attorney in one of the largest USAOs in the nation.
The Civil Division represents the United States in a broad array of defensive and affirmative civil lawsuits arising primarily in the United States District Court for the SDFL. AUSAs in the Civil Division also practice before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Florida state courts.
The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) 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.
For additional information about the office visit us at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl
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 Civil Assistant US Attorney will represent the interest of the United States and its agencies and employees in a wide variety of civil defense litigation, including a diverse caseload of personal injury, premises liability and other common law tort litigation; Biven civil rights suits; statutory and constitutional challenges to government programs, Administrative Procedures Act actions; employment discrimination cases, etc. The individual will spend substantial amounts of time analyzing factual and legal issues and engage in written discovery, working with fact and expert witnesses, depositions, motions practice, mediation and settlement conferences. The selectee will also handle hearings in federal and state court; trials in federal court and may occasionally practice before the U.S. Cout of Appeals and Eleventh Circuit.
Job Locations: The position may be located in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and/or Fort Pierce, Florida.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Type of Position: All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14-month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Residency Requirements: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information.
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.
Proof of active bar membership is required.
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications: Prior experience in civil investigations and litigation is preferred. Applicants should possess superior oral and written communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, the organizational ability to handle a large caseload and the capacity to function in a highly demanding environment with minimal guidance. The successful candidate should have strong academic credential and at least 3 years of post J.D. experience.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
Security Requirements: 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.
Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
Applicants are required to apply online via the website link USAJOBS to this vacancy announcement, 24-FLS-AUSA-12509475-02, by the closing date of September 9, 2024. You may apply to a single office, or to more than one location.
Your application must contain the following are required documents:
• Required - Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
• Required - Your resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day/month/year). A cover letter is optional but preferred.
• Required - A legal writing sample.
• Required - A copy of bar membership, in good standing.
• Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade and current salary.
• 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 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.
Political Appointees (Current and Former): Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of salary for an AD 21 to 29 is between $117,842.00 to $191,800 which includes 24.42% locality pay.
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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.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: 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.
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.