Legal Careers
Trial Attorney
The Public Integrity Section is a litigating Section of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice, with responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of public corruption and election offenses nationwide. The Section oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government. Section attorneys investigate and prosecute cases against federal, state, and local officials throughout the United States. The Section also has substantial responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of election crimes, campaign financing violations, and conflict of interest crimes.
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.
Section attorneys are responsible for independently investigating, prosecuting, and trying public corruption matters. Attorneys in the section:
Participates in Section's efforts to investigate and prosecute public corruption offenses as assigned, including recusal cases, agency referrals, shared cases with United States Attorney's Offices, corruption cases affecting national security, and election crimes and campaign financing offenses;
Makes charging decisions and proposes dispositions with regard to assigned cases, and advises less experienced attorneys in very complex cases, issues lacking precedent, and other challenges that require such leadership;
Speak to a variety of audiences and train investigators and other prosecutors;
Participates in Section's efforts to provide sound and effective legal advice and training for Assistant United States Attorneys, law enforcement agents, international delegations, and foreign law enforcement agencies regarding public corruption and election crime matters;
Partners with U.S. Attorneys Offices and federal law enforcement agencies in the development and management of prosecutions;
Evaluates reports of investigation and memoranda from law enforcement agencies to determine whether litigation is warranted;
Advises and instructs U.S. Attorneys on complicated questions of law and Departmental policy;
Serves as an expert, providing advice and policy determinations in matters involving the planning, discussion and coordination of the activities related to the litigation of public corruption cases. Oversees the preparation and litigation assignments of lower graded attorneys, paralegals and clerical personnel.
Required Qualifications: Interested applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and have at least 4 years post J.D. experience one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: independently performing legal analysis; composing pleadings, briefs and other court documents involving unique and/or difficult legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; conducting highly complex civil or criminal litigation; and leading paralegals and support staff. Applicants must be an active member of the bar in good standing.
Preferred Qualifications: Your qualifications will be further evaluated based upon the following preferred qualifications.
Civil or criminal litigation experience.
Experience in supporting, litigating, and supervising litigation in federal or state courts.
Trial experience in U.S. District Court or state court.
Experience supporting and leading complex criminal investigations and prosecution of public corruption offenses.
Submission Process: The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement. Please submit your application through USAJOBS. The list of required documents can be found in the USAJobs announcement.
1. If you do not already have an account, please create a USAjobs account before applying here: Create an Account. You will be able to upload your resume and complete your profile prior to applying.
2. Once you have an account, apply to the USAjobs vacancy: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/393329500
Deadline Date: Applications for this position should be submitted by February 23, 2015.
Current salary and years of experience determine the appropriate salary level. The possible range for GS-15 position is $126,245 - 158,700 . (See OPM's Web page at GS-Pay Scale)
* * *
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 race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit 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.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
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 their 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).
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.
* * *
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.