Legal Careers
Trial Attorney
The Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS) handles both affirmative and defensive litigation in federal district courts, as well as the appeals which arise from those cases. The Section is responsible for litigation in all 94 districts as well as 12 federal circuit courts of appeals, and works closely with United States Attorneys' offices on immigration-related cases. Further, OIL-DCS provides support and counsel to all federal agencies involved in the admission, regulation, and removal of aliens under our immigration and nationality statutes, as well as related areas of border enforcement, labor and employment, and national security. The Office currently has approximately 70 attorneys and 20 support staff, led by a Director, a Deputy Director, and six Assistant Directors.
The Civil Division, with more than 1,000 attorneys and 14 litigating components, represents the United States, its departments and agencies, Members of Congress, Cabinet officers and other Federal employees.
OIL-DCS seeks several talented and highly-motivated litigators to join the Section. OIL-DCS attorneys work on cutting-edge and complex litigation matters focusing on the defense of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Trial attorneys in the Section personally handle all phases of civil litigation, including case assessment and strategy determination, coordinating legal positions of federal agencies, conducting all aspects of discovery, writing and filing dispositive motions, conducting oral arguments and trials, handling appeals to the circuit courts, and conducting settlement negotiations. Trial Attorneys also provide counsel to other federal agencies concerning litigation risk stemming from immigration policies and practices. OIL-DCS attorneys are regularly asked to review proposed legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to federal immigration law and provide comments.
Required Qualifications: Applicants must be a graduate from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association and be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), have at least one year of post-J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-12 level; have at least two years of post J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-13 level; have at least three years of post J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-14 level; and four years of post J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-15 level. You must also be a U.S. citizen.
Applicants should possess superior oral and written communication skills, as well as strong character, judgment, and interpersonal skills; and have demonstrated the capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment.
Preferred Qualifications: Experience with civil litigation in federal court, including a federal clerkship, is strongly encouraged. An ideal candidate will be familiar with the Federal Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure and the Administrative Procedure Act. Experience with the Immigration and Nationality Act, while helpful, is not required. Candidates should enjoy learning complex regulatory schemes, be comfortable with taking on assignments in new areas of constitutional and federal administrative law, be able to skillfully brief issues of first impression, and eager to argue those issues on behalf of the United States in federal district and appellate courts in various jurisdictions around the United States.
E-mail all materials to: CIV-DCS-Careers@usdoj.gov
Please specify that the application is for the Trial Attorney – District Court Section position in the subject line.
No telephone calls. You must submit your application so that it will be RECEIVED by midnight Eastern Standard Time on the closing date of the announcement.
Please include only the following documents with your application and in the following order as ONE FILE in searchable PDF format:
Cover Letter
Resume
Writing Sample (no more than 15 pages)
Veterans Preference document (if applicable)
The possible salary range is: GS-12 ($77,490 - $100,736), GS-13 ($92,145 - $119,794), GS-14 ($108,887 - $141,555) and GS-15 ($128,082 - $160,300).
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.