Assistant United States Attorney

Summary

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan is seeking the best attorneys to fill positions in our Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions.

This is an open-continuous vacancy announcement that will remain open until November 30, 2026, or until the positions have been filled. Completed applications will be reviewed everyday Wednesday.

As needed, additional selections may be made from this announcement.

For more information, visit

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

An appointment with the U.S. Attorney's Office offers unique and challenging experiences for the highly motivated attorney. Serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and assigned to the Criminal, Civil, or Appellate Division, you will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce federal criminal laws that protect life, liberty, and property of citizens. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan is seeking to hire many AUSAs for our Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions.

Assignments in the Criminal Division include, but are not limited to:

• The investigation and prosecution of federal criminal laws involving guns, violence, immigration, terrorism, drug trafficking, crimes against children, government program fraud, health care fraud, other white collar offenses, public corruption, and organized crime. Attorneys are responsible for handling all aspects of investigations and cases, including gathering evidence, researching the law, and appearing in court at hearings and trials.

Assignments in the Civil Division include, but are not limited to:

• Affirmative Litigation: pursuing civil enforcement actions against the public and private entities, and individuals that engage in fraud, violate federal laws, divert controlled substances, or damage federal lands or resources. Attorneys are responsible for handling all aspects of investigations and cases, including gathering evidence, taking testimony, researching the law, drafting pleadings, and appearing in court at hearings and trials.
• Defensive Litigation: defending the United States, its agencies, and employees in a wide variety of defensive civil matters in federal court, involving tort, employment discrimination, constitutional, Administrative Procedures Act, immigration, and numerous other claims. Attorneys handle all aspects of litigation, including discovery, motion practice, arguments, alternative dispute resolution, pre-trial matters, trials and appeals.
• Civil Rights: enforcing federal civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin. Attorneys are responsible for handling all aspects of investigations and litigation, including gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, researching the law, drafting memoranda and pleadings, and appearing in court at hearings and trials.

Assignments in the Appellate Division include, but are not limited to:

• Appeals arise from diverse crimes, such as health care fraud, mortgage fraud, other complex fraud, organized drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, alien smuggling and other immigration offenses. Attorneys are responsible for researching, writing appellate briefs and postconviction responses, presenting oral arguments on a variety of complex and novel issues involving the constitution, statutory construction, evidentiary and procedural matters, and sentencing issues. Attorneys also provide real-time trial assistance to our Criminal Division attorneys.

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

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

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.
• Must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree AND be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction).

Proof of active bar membership is required.

United States citizenship is required. For additional information regarding citizenship, refer to the " Suitability and Citizenship " requirements in the " Required Documents " section below.

Preferred Qualifications:

The attorney must have a very strong ability to analyze complex legal and factual issues, write clearly and persuasively, possess a strong work ethic, exhibit good organizational skills, exercise fair and sound judgment, pay careful attention to facts and details, work well both independently and on a team, be ready and willing to volunteer to help other attorneys, be able to negotiate fairly and effectively with opposing counsel, handle matters in court persuasively on behalf of the United States of America, and be devoted to justice, excellence, and representing the public.

Hiring for AUSA positions within the USAO is highly competitive. The USAO seeks a complement of lawyers with a wide range of exceptional skills and experience, unified by keen intelligence and sincere commitment to public interest. Litigation experience, superior academic record, excellent writing skills, impeccable character, demonstrated interest in public service, courtroom presence, and the ability to work with and relate to a wide variety of people are all considered. Most attorneys hired have several years of experience, although highly qualified recent graduates with some experience in practice or as a judicial clerk are also considered.

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

Education

Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree

Additional information

Applications will be reviewed on a weekly basis for consideration.

When completing your application materials, please identify if you want to be considered for our Criminal, Civil, and/or Appellate Divisions. This is completed on the Organization Questionnaire identified below in the Required Documents section, and also completed within the application's preferences section of the announcement questionnaire.

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 $84,655 to $197,100, which includes the 29.12% Detroit/Flint 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 outside the district may be required. Travel within the district will be required.

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.

Political Appointees (Current and Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here:

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.