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Legal Careers

Special Assistant United States Attorney

Hiring Organization
USAO Northern District of Iowa
Job ID
2016-NDIA-SAUSA-01
Location:
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 - United States
Application Deadline:
About the Office

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa (“USAO”) prosecutes federal criminal offenses and defends the interests of the United States in civil cases. The Northern District of Iowa spans 52 of the state's 99 counties. The USAO headquarters is located in the eastern Iowa community of Cedar Rapids, with a branch office located on the western border of Iowa in Sioux City.

Cedar Rapids is Iowa's second largest city with a metro population of around 120,000. The city is located in the east central part of the state and is centrally located from major Midwest cities including Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Kansas City. Cedar Rapids has placed among the top 20 Forbes Magazine “Best Places” and has been named a “kid-friendly” city based on such factors as school quality. Cedar Rapids boasts an ideal blend of commerce, culture, leisure and education opportunities. Great jobs, safe neighborhoods, theaters, museums, schools, symphonies, shopping, sports and recreation abound in the Cedar Rapids area. For more information on Cedar Rapids visit: http://www.cedar-rapids.com/.

More information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/ian/.

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 attorney filling the vacancy will be employed by the Linn County Attorney's Office and cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (“SAUSA”). Salary and benefits will be paid by Linn County. The attorney will work in the USAO in Cedar Rapids. The attorney filling this position will be assigned a variety of narcotics and narcotics-related criminal investigations and prosecutions. The position will be filled on a time-limited basis and is expected to last for two years but may be extended without further competition.

Note: Employees of the Department of Justice, including Special Assistant United States Attorneys, may not engage in the compensated practice of law outside the office. Attorneys are not eligible to serve as Special Assistant United States Attorneys if they have had an employment offer deferred by a law firm and received a payment for the period of their deferral with the expectation of future employment with the law firm, or if they will receive any payment from a law firm during their employment with the Department of Justice. In addition, contractors, including employees of contractors who do business with the Department of Justice, and who also are attorneys, are not eligible to serve as Special Assistant United States Attorneys.

Qualifications

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-JD legal or other relevant experience. Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing, and must be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must be proficient in the use of computers.

Preferred Qualifications: Preferred applicants will possess significant experience, skills, and/or interest in prosecuting federal narcotics and narcotics-related crimes. Preferred applicants will demonstrate excellent oral and written advocacy skills. Preferred applicants will have excellent interpersonal skills, including experience working with multi-agency task forces and other law enforcement officials. Preferred applicants will have experience and familiarity with federal grand jury practice. Preferred applicants will have experience in preparation of appellate briefs and presentation of appellate arguments.

United States citizenship is required.

Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a full-field background investigation.

Application Process

Interested persons should direct cover letters and resumes to:

Scott McNamar
Human Resources Specialist
United States Attorney's Office
111 7th Ave SE, Box 1
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

No phone calls please. Hand-carried applications must be received by 5:00 pm Central Time on Friday, December 18, 2015; mailed applications must be postmarked by Friday, December 18, 2015. Applications may also be emailed to USAIAN.HR@usdoj.gov . Persons applying by email are responsible for ensuring that email and any attachments are received no later than 11:59 pm Central Time on Friday, December 18, 2015. (Note: The Northern District of Iowa cannot be responsible for lost/misrouted/delayed email transmissions.)

Salary

The annual salary for this position will be $50,000-$58,500, dependent on experience and funding availability.

Number of Positions
One (1). As needed, additional positions may be filled from this announcement.
Travel
The SAUSA may be required to travel within and outside the District.
Relocation Expenses
Relocation expenses may be paid.

Department Policies

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.

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. 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.

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.

Updated April 7, 2016