Legal Careers
Assistant United States Attorney
Montgomery, AL 36104 - United States
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama has jurisdiction and responsibility in a broad range of areas, all of which involve representing the legal interests of the federal government, primarily in United States District Court. The Middle District of Alabama consists of 23 counties in central and southeastern Alabama and employs approximately 58 employees, including 25 Assistant United States Attorneys. The United States Attorney, Louis V. Franklin, Sr., is currently seeking to hire an outstanding candidate for an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) position in the Criminal Division. More information about our office may be found at our website: http://www.justice.gov/usao/alm
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.
The District is seeking applications from energetic, self-motivated, hard-working, and highly qualified attorneys for an AUSA vacancy. Although trial experience is not necessary, it is preferred, and the desire to appear in court and try cases is a must. The selected applicant will be responsible for prosecuting a variety of criminal cases.
All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a time-limited 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation. Temporary appointments may be extended or made permanent without further competition.
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.
Required Qualifications: Applicant must possess a J.D. degree from an accredited law school, be an active member in good standing of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 5 years of post-J.D. work experience as a practicing attorney. Applicant must possess superior oral and writing skills, strong research and interpersonal skills, and good judgment.
Preferred Qualifications: Applicant should demonstrate quick analytical ability and be able to accurately and precisely articulate the critical issues in a case. Applicant should possess excellent communication skills, strong advocacy skills, courtroom skills and presence, and exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff and client agencies. Applicant should have excellent judgment and the ability to handle highly charged issues. Applicant should possess excellent computer skills which should include experience with automated research and various word-processing systems. Applicant will be expected to do the majority of his/her own legal research and writing and should be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings.
Initial appointment is contingent upon a satisfactory pre-employment 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.
United States citizenship is required.
To be considered for a position, applications must include a detailed resume, one writing sample of no more than 15 pages, a cover letter (list the vacancy announcement number 19-MDAL-AUSA-11 in the cover letter) and a list of significant cases tried to verdict, either jury or non-jury, as lead counsel or second chair.
Louis V. Franklin, Sr.
United States Attorney
Middle District of Alabama
Attention: Retta Goss, Administrative Officer
13 Clayton Street Montgomery, Alabama 36104
Application materials should be submitted via email to usaalm.personnel@usdoj.gov OR mailed to the address listed above.
Internet sites: http://www.justice.gov/usao/alm. This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html.
When emailing application materials, submit all attachments as pdf documents.
Do not submit your resume by both email and regular mail, FedEx, UPS, etc.
No telephone calls please. No applications or resumes will be accepted by fax.
Applications must be received in the U. S. Attorney’s Office, MDAL, by COB (5:00pm CST) on October 18, 2019.
Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $53,805 to $126,246 plus 15.67% locality pay where authorized.
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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 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.
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.
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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.