Assistant United States Attorney (Civil)

Summary The Department of Justice (DOJ) leads the nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. As a Justice employee you’ll be a member of a team where you can achieve your career goals and apply your skills and talents to our important mission. Summary The Department of Justice (DOJ) leads the nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. As a Justice employee you’ll be a member of a team where you can achieve your career goals and apply your skills and talents to our important mission. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit Duties Help The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana is currently soliciting applications for a general Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) position in its Civil Division. This position could be located in Hammond, South Bend or Fort Wayne. Applications may be reviewed at any time prior to the closing of this announcement. The successful candidate will be responsible for a wide variety of civil matters, including, but not limited to, defensive litigation (such as personal injury, medical malpractice, and employment discrimination), constitutional claims against federal employees, and affirmative civil enforcement (including healthcare fraud, procurement fraud, financial fraud, and pharmaceutical diversion). The selected candidate will also defend immigration cases, including cases brought by detainees challenging their continued detention, cases challenging the government’s denial of immigration benefits applications, and other casework related to illegal immigration. And the selected candidate will bring, or assist the Civil Rights Division in bringing, actions to protect civil rights. Day-to-day responsibilities include working with client agencies to gather information, engaging in motions practice, preparing and answering discovery requests, conducting investigations, defending and taking depositions, retaining and working with experts, negotiating settlements, trying cases, and briefing and arguing appeals. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. 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, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience. United States citizenship is required. Preferred Qualifications Ideal qualifications include at least 3 or more years of post-J.D. experience litigating cases in federal or state courts, with substantial responsibility for all aspects of discovery and trial in civil matters. The ideal candidate also will have substantial experience conducting discovery, legal writing and oral advocacy experience, legal practice in federal court (or a federal court clerkship), and/or experience handling settlement negotiations. Applicants should have a strong work ethic, excellent research and writing skills, as well as strong oral advocacy skills to represent the DOJ in a variety of contexts including, but not limited to, court hearings, depositions/interviews, and settlement conferences. Applicants should also have a strong commitment to public service, attention to detail, and exercise sound judgment and show integrity and honesty in following Department of Justice and United States Attorney's Office policies. Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic e-mail and word processing systems. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement. 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, 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. Education Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree Additional information 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 $65,563.00 to $171,475.00 . Depending on duty location, locality pay for Hammond is 30.86% and 17.06% for South Bend and Fort Wayne. Total salary is basic pay + 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. 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. #J-18808-Ljbffr