Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney, Superior Court Division
Washington, DC 20530 - United States
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (USAODC) is unique among the 94 United States Attorneys' Offices across the nation by virtue of its size and its varied responsibilities. It is the largest United States Attorney's Office with up to 350 Assistant United States Attorneys and 350 support personnel. The size of this Office is the result of the breadth of our responsibility for criminal law enforcement and our location in the nation's capital. We are responsible not only for the prosecution of all federal crimes, but also for the prosecution of all serious local crimes committed by adults in the District of Columbia. In addition, we represent the United States and its departments and agencies in civil proceedings filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. As the principal prosecutor for all criminal offenses in this jurisdiction, and as the principal litigator for the United States in the nation's capital, this Office offers extensive trial experience before over 100 judges in the federal and local courts and unique opportunities for important public service.
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 applicant selected will represent the United States in a wide range of unique and complex cases. As a general rule, newly hired Assistant United States Attorneys who are assigned to the Superior Court Division should expect to spend four to five years rotating through a series of assignments during which they will investigate and prosecute local crimes in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Assistants who join the Office with a particular expertise may be eligible for acceleration through the rotation process. The rotation of assignments provides training in criminal investigation, allows Assistants to develop their trial and oral advocacy skills, and offers exposure to the myriad of issues raised by the wide variety of cases that the Office handles.
The first assignment is typically to the Appellate Division, the Special Proceedings Division, or a Misdemeanor Unit in either the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section or the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section of the Superior Court Division. If an Assistant starts in the Appellate Division or the Special Proceedings Division, he or she will then rotate to one of the Misdemeanor Units in the Superior Court Division. After completing a rotational assignment in a Misdemeanor Unit, Assistants will generally rotate through the three tiers of the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section. During or after completing these rotational assignments, a number of things may occur. Assistants may be assigned to the Felony Unit of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section where they will investigate and prosecute felony domestic violence cases. Assistants may be assigned to a rotational position in the Appellate Division or the Special Proceedings Division if they did not previously complete that assignment. Or Assistants may be assigned to a rotational position in the Criminal Division where they will investigate and prosecute federal crimes in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Afterwards, Assistants will generally return to a rotational position in the Felony Major Crimes Trial Section, or they may be selected for a senior, non-rotational position in the Superior Court Division or elsewhere in the Office. The order and length of any assignment depends upon the staffing needs of the Office and the Assistant’s performance and professional development during the rotation.
All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14-month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
The ideal candidate will have outstanding legal ability, high moral character, mature judgment, a keen desire for public service, and an exceptional aptitude for intensive trial work. Selections are made of the most highly qualified attorneys who apply, without regard to race, sex, religion, creed, color, national origin, handicap, age, marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation or political affiliation. Prior litigation or trial experience, although highly desirable, is not mandatory. We do, however, require at least one (1) year of legal experience following admission to the Bar.
Interested applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any state, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and have at least one year post J.D. legal experience. Applicants must be an active member of the bar in good standing.
United States citizenship is required. Applicants should review D.C. Bar Opinion 210 and ascertain whether they have a conflict of interest that they need to address.
An application package for a position with this Office should include a cover letter, resume, legal writing sample and an official law school transcript. Cover letters must include the vacancy announcement number and the Division. The writing sample selected for 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. Applicants may also submit letters of reference from persons recommending appointment.
All applications and supporting documentation for Superior Court Division AUSA positions should be mailed to:
Alessio D. Evangelista
Principal Assistant United States
Attorney United States Attorney's Office
District of Columbia 555 Fourth St., N.W., Room 5810
Washington, D.C. 20530
Attention: Lynita Greene
United States Attorney's Office
District of Columbia
555 Fourth St., N.W., Room 5810
Washington, D.C. 20530
No telephone calls please. Position is open until filled, but no later than Wednesday, October 31, 2018.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint and credit checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Internet Sites: http://www.justice.gov/usao/districts/dc.html
This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/vacancies.
Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $77,908 to $159,638 which includes 28.22% 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.
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.