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Legal Careers

Assistant United States Attorney

Hiring Organization
USAO Eastern District of Louisiana
Location:
650 Poydras St., Suite 1600
New Orleans, LA 70130 - United States
Application Deadline:
About the Office

The Eastern District of Louisiana, located in the City of New Orleans, is responsible for prosecuting all federal offenses committed within 13 parishes (counties) of southern Louisiana. The Criminal Division prosecutes a wide range of federal cases involving violent crime, narcotics, public corruption, and fraud crimes. The Civil Division, responsible for a wide range of affirmative and defensive litigation, handles matters involving environmental violations, health care, civil rights, employment discrimination, tax, immigration, and challenges to federal agency actions.

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 office is currently seeking applicants to fill one or more Assistant U.S. Attorney positions in the Criminal Division. Assignments may include the investigation and prosecution of violent offenses, drug trafficking, immigration offenses, terrorism, public corruption, white collar, and organized crime. Assignments will include responsibility for all phases of criminal prosecution, from providing guidance to law enforcement officers, initiating criminal charges, conducting grand jury proceedings and trials, handling motions and appeals, and asset forfeiture matters.

Assistant United States Attorneys assigned to the Criminal Division must possess the qualities necessary to excel in their mission to enforce the criminal laws of the United States. These qualities include superior advocacy and communication skills, strong analytical ability, management and leadership potential and dedication to duty. Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, investigative agencies, witnesses, and crime victims. They must also demonstrate their willingness to meet the higher ethical standards expected of prosecutors in their interactions with opposing counsel and the Courts.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

  • Applicants must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, be an active member of the bar of any U.S. jurisdiction, and have at least one year of post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
  • Applicants must hold United States citizenship.

Preferred Qualifications:

Applicants must have a demonstrated ability to function as a criminal litigator, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment. Applicants also must demonstrate: (1) the ability to quickly, accurately, and precisely articulate the critical issues in a case; (2) superior oral and writing skills; (3) strong research and interpersonal skills; (4) good judgment; (5) excellent communication and courtroom skills; and (6) the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted online through the following link:

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/636444800

You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

  • Required - Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
  • Required - A cover letter and resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day/month/year).
  • Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary; and a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.
  • Required, if applicable - To get Veterans' Preference, you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section for details regarding what is appropriate Veterans' Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.

Once your complete application package is received, it will be reviewed to ensure you meet all job requirements. An attorney interview panel will then review all qualified applicants and make recommendations for invitation to interview. You will be notified if selected for an interview.

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.

Salary

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 $66,214 to $173,189 which includes 16.20% locality pay.

Number of Positions
1
Travel
Occasional travel
Relocation Expenses
Relocation Expenses will not be authorized.

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 February 11, 2022