Legal Careers
Trial Attorney
The Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes designed to safeguard the right to vote of all American citizens, including the Voting Rights Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, and Civil Rights Acts. The practice for Voting Section attorneys is conducted before federal district courts throughout the country.
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 Trial Attorneys selected for these positions will be responsible for developing investigations and litigation addressing all aspects of the Voting Section's enforcement duties. Responsibilities include:
- Planning and conducting investigations to assess potential violations of the federal laws enforced by the Voting Section;
- Analyzing and evaluating data and evidence, including witness statements, documents, electronic databases and records, demographic and geographic data, election records, historical evidence and statistical studies;
- Researching factual and legal issues, including likely defenses and counter-arguments;
- Preparing written recommendations for further investigation and/or litigation and drafting pleadings;
- Litigating cases, including conducting pre-trial written discovery, electronic discovery and depositions, drafting motions, briefs, and other court filings, working with expert witnesses, trial preparation and conducting hearings and trials; and
- Drafting settlement proposals, preparing for and participating in settlement negotiations, and monitoring compliance with consent decrees and other settlements.
In addition, trial attorneys participate in monitoring elections around the country and may conduct administrative reviews of voting changes under the Voting Rights Act.
Required Qualifications:
Applicants must possess a J.D. from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), and possess the minimum years of post-professional law degree experience commensurate to the grade level of eligibility, as shown below. Applicants also must have strong, demonstrated qualifications in the following areas: academic achievement; substantive knowledge and expertise in the laws, rules and regulations applicable to the work of the Voting Section or substantially similar laws, rules and regulations; written and oral communication skills; the ability to analyze complex issues; skill and experience working collaboratively and productively with others; organizational skills; professional judgment; initiative; and the ability to excel in a fast-paced, demanding environment. In addition, applicants must have outstanding professional references.
Possessing the minimum post law degree legal experience does not guarantee the applicant will be selected at that grade level.
- GS-12 - minimum 1 year of post-J.D legal experience
- GS-13 - minimum 1.5 years of post-J.D legal experience
- GS-14 - minimum 2.5 years post-J.D legal experience
- GS- 15 - minimum 4 years post-J.D legal experience
Preferred Qualifications:
The following qualifications are preferred, but not required: (1) experience litigating voting rights cases in federal court, including handling litigation strategy, discovery, electronic discovery, motions practice, trial preparation and conduct of trials; (2) experience investigating potential violations of the federal voting rights statutes, including interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents, analyzing complex datasets and reviewing applicable case law to assess the merits of a case; and (3) experience negotiating settlements in federal voting rights cases. Experience litigating, investigating and negotiating settlements of cases in federal court involving substantially similar laws, rules and regulations (particularly involving complex statistical, database and geographic analysis) is also preferred. Judicial clerkships (especially in federal court), law review, moot court, clinical experience, and skill and experience working cooperatively and productively with a range of people, such as charging parties, witnesses, respondents, disadvantaged or disenfranchised groups, opposing counsel, judicial or administrative officials, advocacy groups, law enforcement personnel, and the staff of other federal or state governmental agencies are also preferred.
Please submit your application through USAJOBS. The list of required documents can be found in the USAJobs Announcement.
A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/24/2021 to receive consideration. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to Create an Account before beginning application.
Once you are logged into USAJobs, apply to the vacancy: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/593178800
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently
represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict
of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possibleconflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently representclients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients oradjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest ordisqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
The salary range is at the GS-12/15 level, $87,198 - $159,286 per annum, which includes locality pay.
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.