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The United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Southern District of Florida (SDFL) is seeking several experienced attorneys to serve as Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) in the Civil Division either (1) primarily handling affirmative civil enforcement (ACE) investigations and litigation in connection with federal health care benefit programs or (2) defending the United States and its agency clients in connection with defensive litigation (Civil Defensive).
Learn more about this agency12/02/2024 to 12/12/2024
$117,842 - $191,800 per year
Salary includes a locality payment of 24.42%
AD 21
Few vacancies in the following locations:
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
No
Permanent
Full-time
Excepted
29
No
Yes
No
25-FLS AUSA-12628061-07
821730100
If selected for an ACE position, you would be part of a dedicated team handling a wide variety of whistleblower actions and direct referrals from the Department of HHS, the FDA, and the DEA. These matters implicate potential health care fraud and other frauds, including cases involving the medical necessity of health care services, the payment of kickbacks to secure health care referrals, and fraud in the provisions of managed care. AUSAs handing ACE cases will work closely with agents, medical experts, auditors, forensic accountants, and nurses to analyze the complex factual and legal issues these cases raise and must exercise sound judgment during the investigation and resolution of these cases. Because most cases are resolved through settlement, these AUSAs spend substantial amounts of time in formal and informal settlement negotiations. Other cases are litigated if the government decides to file a complaint in intervention. In those cases, the assigned AUSA becomes engaged in written discovery, depositions, motions practice, hearings, and trials in federal court. Some cases are handled jointly with attorneys in other U.S. Attorney's Offices and/or attorneys in the Civil Frauds Section, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, DOJ.
If selected for a Civil Defensive position, you would represent the interests of the United States and its agencies and employees in a wide variety of civil defensive litigation, including a diverse caseload of personal injury, premises liability and other common law tort litigation, Bivens civil rights suits, statutory and constitutional challenges to government programs, Administrative Procedures Act actions, and employment discrimination cases. Civil Defensive AUSAs spend substantial time analyzing factual and legal issues and engaging in written discovery, working with fact and expert witnesses, taking and defending depositions, engaging in motions practice, mediation and settlement conferences. Civil Defensive AUSAs also handle dispositive hearings in federal and state courts, trials in federal court and may occasionally practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Both ACE and Civil Defensive AUSAs will also be assigned immigration cases and various other litigation matters.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progresses.
Position Requirements:
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.
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree
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 for AD-21 through AD-29 is $117,842 to $191,800 which includes 24.42% 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.
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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: May require travel, both within and outside the district, as needed.
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.
Political Appointees (Current and Former): Political Appointees (Current or 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.
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.
Diversity Statement: 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.
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 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).
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.
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/12/2024 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. (It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.)
3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. However, should you not be able to apply online, please contact Southern District of Florida at (305) 961-9059 or email at Minett.Fernandez2@usdoj.gov, prior to the closing date of this announcement to request an alternate method of applying.
We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation, to include a credit and tax checks, and a drug test by urinalysis. We expect to make a final job offer within 120 days after the closing date of the announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/821730100. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The USAO SDFL is one of the largest USAOs in the nation. Divisions include Appellate, Asset Forfeiture, Civil and Criminal. The Civil Division defends the interest of the United States from suits alleging statutory torts, constitutional torts, employment discrimination, and a myriad of other claims. The Civil Division also prosecutes cases for fraud and other violations of federal laws and is responsible for collecting monies owed to the government as a result of criminal fines, defaulted student loans, mortgage foreclosures, bond forfeitures and civil judgments. The Civil Division's civil rights enforcement program investigates and litigates cases involving discrimination in the areas of housing, public employment, disability, voting and education.
For more information about the Southern District of Florida, visit us at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl
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.
All initial attorney positions to the Department of Justice are made on a 14-month (temporary) basis.
These positions are located in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach or Fort. Pierce, Florida. You may apply to one location or multiple locations.
As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
