Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney - Financial Litigation
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia is a medium sized district and includes 43 counties with a headquarters office in Savannah, a staffed branch office in Augusta, and four unstaffed branch offices in Brunswick, Statesboro, Dublin and Waycross. The United States Attorney's Office prosecutes federal crimes, represents the federal government's interests in civil cases, and represents the government in criminal and civil appeals.
The home page for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia, may be accessed at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/gas.
This is a temporary appointment not-to-exceed 13 months from the entry on duty date. This position may be extended or made permanent without further competition.
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 office is interviewing for an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Financial Litigation Section in the Civil Division. The Financial Litigation Section is responsible for collecting federal debts and the forfeiture of assets related to criminal activity. The Division's primary objective is to use best efforts to divest criminals of their property and return it to victims of crime. The attorney selected will be a part of a team dedicated to the enforcement of criminal restitution on behalf of victims, collection of criminal monetary penalties, and collection and enforcement of civil debts owed to the United States and its agencies.
The AUSA will have the opportunity to represent the United States focusing on the collection of financial debts owed to the United States. The AUSA's duties will include filing civil complaints and enforcing civil and criminal judgments; conducting legal research; writing briefs; taking depositions; appearing in court; and conducting investigations into debtors' financial condition. The AUSA must be able to analyze complex legal and factual issues; be an excellent, clear, logical, and careful writer, show strong organizational skills, come to work with dedication and energy, exercise sound judgment, pay careful attention to detail, show integrity and honesty, follow Department of Justice and United States Attorney's Office policies, work well both independently and with others, negotiate effectively, and handle matters in court persuasively on behalf of the United States. In addition, applicants with experience in debt collection and litigating in bankruptcy court are encouraged to apply.
Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member in good standing of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least one year of post-J.D. legal experience. The applicant must submit a resume, a cover letter, and a writing sample (one only, and not longer than 20 pages).
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications: Experience with financial litigation, and the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act; experience in supporting, handling, or litigating federal cases; excellent writing, speaking and analytical skills; strong work ethic, character, dedication and interest in public service; interest in handling a wide variety of challenging cases on behalf of the United States of America; and the ability to work well both independently and on teams with others on complex cases.
Applications must be submitted online through the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/451003100
The deadline to apply on-line is 11:59 p.m. (EST) on September 30, 2016. If unable to apply on-line, the announcement provides instruction on faxing your documents in the “How to Apply” tab. No telephone calls, please.
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 $51,811.00 to $135,519.00, plus locality pay, if 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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