Duties

Summary

The United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia, covers 52 of the state's counties and employs approximately 30 Assistant United States Attorneys over three staffed offices The United States Attorney's Office prosecutes federal criminal offenses and represents the U.S. government's interest in civil cases both affirmatively and defensively.

District Website: https://www.justice.gov/USAO-WDVA

This position is located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The district is soliciting applications for a Criminal Division Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) position in our Charlottesville branch office. The applicant will join other criminal AUSAs who handle a variety of litigation within the Criminal Division. The Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes federal cases arising from a wide array of criminal activity. An AUSA engaged in this challenging work spends substantial time developing cases with investigators, searching and writing, and preparing for trials, sentencings, and other hearings.

Assistant United States Attorneys in the Criminal Division are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of cases that include drug crimes; violent crimes; firearms offenses; child exploitation crimes; human trafficking; organized crime; terrorism; white collar crime, including wire and mail fraud, healthcare fraud, and mortgage fraud; criminal immigration matters; and general crimes. The qualified applicant would be expected to (a) assist federal law enforcement agents in structuring and implementing criminal investigative plans and strategies; (b) actively participate in grand jury proceedings, including the presentation of witnesses before the grand jury; and (c) litigate cases of moderate to high complexity from start to finish with limited supervision.

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

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

All initial attorney appointments in the Department of Justice are made on a time-limited (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

The ideal candidate will have experience investigating and prosecuting drug and gun related offenses, as well as violent crime.

Required Qualifications:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 3 years post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.

United States citizenship is required.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Preferred Qualifications:
Experience investigating and prosecuting drug related offenses, illegal drug suppliers, and violent crime is preferred. Only applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and writing skills will be considered. Applicants should possess strong oral and written communication skills, legal research and writing skills, interpersonal skills and exercise fair and sound judgment. Additionally, it is desired that the successful candidate have strong academic credentials.

Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

Residency Requirements: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov .

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasional travel - Travel, both within and outside the District, may be required depending on the needs of a particular case. On average, 1 to 5 days a month is typical.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
29

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• Background Investigation, credit and tax checks, and drug test required.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.

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 3 years post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience. United States citizenship is required. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience investigating and prosecuting drug related offenses, illegal drug suppliers, and violent crime is preferred. Only applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and writing skills will be considered. Applicants should possess strong oral and written communication skills, legal research and writing skills, interpersonal skills and exercise fair and sound judgment. Additionally, it is desired that the successful candidate have strong academic credentials.

Education

Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 3 years post-J.D. experience. Only applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and writing skills will be considered. Applicants should possess strong oral and written communication skills, legal research and writing skills, interpersonal skills and exercise fair and sound judgment. Additionally, it is desired that the successful candidate have strong academic credentials.

Additional information

Please ensure you reference Announcement 21-WDVA-AUSA-03 in your cover letter or resume submission.

Salary Information : 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 $64,649 to $169,097 which includes 15.95% locality pay.

Other Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The Benefits link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal Employees.

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.

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.

Travel: Occasional travel - Travel, both within and outside the District, may be required depending on the needs of a particular case. On average, 1 to 5 days a month is typical.

Type of Position : All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

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.

Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Evaluation Method: 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.

The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.

Veterans' Preference: 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 indicate their preference in response to the appropriate question in their assessment questionnaire (it is also recommended that information is included in their cover letter or resume) and they must submit supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) which verifies their eligibility for preference. 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, http://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 his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

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.

Diversity : Our office places a high value on diversity of experiences and perspectives and encourages applications from all qualified men and women from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, veterans, LGBT individuals, and persons with disabilities.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

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.
• Required - Your 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 - Proof of good standing with the Bar Association.
• Required - Proof of when you received your Juris Doctorate (Month and Year indicated on the attachment)
• Required - A list of references who we may contact.
• Required - A writing sample.
• 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.

Department of Justice 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 color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected genetic information, status as a parent, 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 .

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 targeted/severe 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 who have lived outside the United States for two or more of the past five years will likely have difficulty being approved for appointments by the Department Security Staff. The two-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.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.