ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

USAO SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

WEST PALM BEACH BRANCH OFFICE, CRIMINAL DIVISION

ATTORNEY

500 S. AUSTRALIAN AVENUE

WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401

20-SDFL-AUSA-06

About the Office: 

The United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Southern District of Florida (SDFL) is seeking an experienced attorney to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in one of the largest USAOs in the nation. Its Divisions include: Appellate, Asset Forfeiture, Civil and Criminal. The Criminal Division is further divided into Sections: Major Crimes, Economic & Environmental Crimes, International Narcotics and Money Laundering, National Security, Public Corruption & Civil Rights, and Special Prosecutions. The USAO-SDFL is a leader in the prosecution of health care fraud, bank and other white collar frauds, narcotics offenses, human trafficking cases, public corruption, and national security matters. The Appellate Division provides advice and assistance to the litigation sections in appellate matters and handles all appeals before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Asset Forfeiture Division handles some of the most significant and complex forfeiture cases in the nation using criminal and civil forfeiture statutes to take the profit out of crime and, in many cases, return assets to victims. 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 division's civil rights enforcement program investigates and litigates cases involving discrimination in the areas of housing, public employment, disability, voting and education. There are also three branch offices located in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce.

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.

Job Description: 

The incumbent will represent the U.S. Government as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in a wide range of unique and complex criminal cases, in a District that extends over 300 miles from Key West to Vero Beach.   The Southern District of Florida carries one of the busiest criminal trial dockets in the nation. 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.

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. experience.

Preferred Qualifications:  Prior experience in criminal investigations and prosecutions is preferred.  Applicants should possess superior oral and written communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, and the capacity to function in a highly demanding environment with minimal guidance. Additionally, it is desired that the successful candidate have strong academic credentials and at least 3 years of post J.D. experience.

Key Requirements:

You must be a U.S. Citizen or National and be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.  See www.sss.gov

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.

Salary: 

AD 21-29, $55,204.00 to $144,392.00 Base Salary. A 23.51% locality adjustment will be added to the base pay.

Travel: 

May require 1 to 5 days a month; regular travel, both within and outside the district, will be required

Application Process: 

Reference the vacancy number: 20-SDFL-AUSA-06.

A cover letter, resume and a writing sample must be submitted by e-mail to: USAFLS-AUSAResumes@usdoj.gov 

Electronic submission of applications is preferred, however, if doing so creates a hardship, applications may be sent to:

OR by mail to the following address:
United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Florida
99 NE 4th Street
Miami, Florida 33132
Attention: Attorney Recruitment

No telephone calls please. 

Information about the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl

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.

Number of Positions: 

Several

Updated January 8, 2020

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Department 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, pregnancy, status as a parent, or any other nonmerit-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.

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.

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 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 must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-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. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.

Veterans:  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 include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. 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, 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).

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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.