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The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is unique in the size and the scope of its work. It serves as both the local and the federal prosecutor for the nation's capital. AUSAs assigned to the Superior Court Division prosecute D.C. Code offenses ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. AUSAs assigned to the Criminal Division prosecute a broad range of U.S. Code violations.
03/13/2025 to 03/24/2025
$84,601 - $195,100 per year
AD 21
many vacancies in the following location:
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
25-DC-12708990-AUSA
833640900
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is accepting applications for attorneys to serve as Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) in the Office's Superior Court and Criminal Divisions.
The Superior Court Division is the largest division in the Office. It has primary responsibility for prosecuting criminal cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Superior Court Division handles the highest volume of felony and misdemeanor cases prosecuted by the Office, including homicides, sexual assaults, carjackings, kidnappings, robberies, burglaries, domestic violence, and narcotics and weapons possession. For AUSAs assigned to the Superior Court Division, the Career Development Program provides new AUSAs with rotational work assignments in different (and progressively more complex) legal program areas of the Office for approximately four years. Rotations through different areas of litigation provide AUSAs opportunities to develop skills and competencies that will enhance their ability to contribute to the important mission of the United States Attorney's Office to enforce federal law and administer justice in the United States.
The Criminal Division has primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting criminal cases in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Because the Office is in the nation's capitol, the Criminal Division handles a broad range of consequential cases, including violent crime, child exploitation, human trafficking, drug trafficking, fraud, government corruption, cybercrime, terrorism, sanctions violations, espionage, and other threats to the District of Columbia and the nation.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/careers/careers.html
As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
You must be a United States Citizen or National.
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.
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: This is an excepted service attorney appointment under an Administrative Determined pay scale. (See www.justice.gov/usao/career-center/salary-information/administratively-determined-pay-plan-charts). 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 $84,601 to $195,100 which includes 33.94% locality pay. For additional information on salary and benefits, visit www.justice.gov/legal-careers/attorney-salaries-promotions-and-benefits.
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.
USAO Residency Requirement: 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.
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
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.
The Department of Justice is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment for all employees and applicants. See U.S. Department of Justice Equal Employment Opportunity Policy for complete details.
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).
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 03/24/2025 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 US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia at or email at USADC.Staffers@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/833640900. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
