SPECIAL ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY (UNCOMPENSATED) - USAO SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA
About the Office:
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa employs 27 Assistant United States Attorneys. The District’s headquarters office is located in Des Moines. The District has staffed branch offices in Davenport and Council Bluffs, which serve the District’s eastern and western divisions.
Our office places a high value on diversity of experiences and perspectives and encourages applications from all qualified individuals from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, veterans, LGBT individuals, and persons with disabilities.
Job Description:
Employment with the United States Attorney's Office offers a unique and challenging experience for highly motivated attorneys, including opportunities to work on their own caseload and handle their own trials. This particular uncompensated Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) will be assigned to the Civil Division in the Des Moines Office. A one-year employment commitment is required.
Candidates for the Civil Position will have the opportunity to perform an important public service by representing the interests of the United States of America in civil actions brought by or against the United States in both federal and state courts of law.
The SAUSA will receive training in investigating, pursuing and defending the interests of the United States, and may have the opportunity to attend formal training or conferences with SAUSAs and Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) from districts across the country.
This is a one-year appointment without compensation. Employee benefits for this position will be limited.
Note: Employees of the Department of Justice, including uncompensated Special Assistant United States Attorneys, may not engage in the compensated practice of law outside the office. Attorneys are not eligible to serve as SAUSAs if they have had an employment offer deferred by a law firm and received a payment for the period of deferral with the expectation of future employment with the law firm, or if they will receive any payment from a law firm during their unpaid employment with the Department of Justice. In addition, contractors, including employees of contractors who do business with the Department of Justice, and who are attorneys, are not eligible to serve as uncompensated SAUSAs. 5 CFR 3801.106, Outside Employment, prohibits, generally Department attorneys from engaging in the compensated outside practice of law, with the exception of law professors. Attorneys in this category are employed to teach law, and are not otherwise engaged in the compensated outside practice of law.
Qualifications:
Required qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree; be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of a State, territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants must be active members in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) and have at least 1 year of post J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
Preferred qualifications: Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability and the ability to accurately and precisely articulate the critical issues in a case. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and writing skills as well as strong research and interpersonal skills, and good judgment. Applicants must possess excellent communication and courtroom skills and exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies. Applicants must have a demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment. United States citizenship is required.
United States Citizenship is required.
Salary:
Uncompensated
Travel:
Occasional travel, both within and outside the District, may be required, including for training at the Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center.
Application Process:
Applicants should send a resume and Attorney Questionnaire to: USAIAS.Applications@usdoj.gov. Please send entire application package in one pdf file. If you are currently an attorney with a federal agency, please include a copy of your most recent SF 50-B, Notification of Personnel Action.
No telephone calls please. Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date of July 13, 2020.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint and credit checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Following appointment, SAUSAs generally must reside in the district to which they are appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. § 545 for district-specific information.
Internet Sites: More information about the Southern District of Iowa may be found at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia. This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html.
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.
Application Deadline:
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Relocation Expenses:
Relocation expenses will not be paid.
Number of Positions:
1 or more.
Updated July 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.