Legal Careers
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Las Vegas, NV 89101 - United States
The Las Vegas office serves as the main office and headquarters of the district, and most of the attorneys and staff are based in that office. Our office is in the federal courthouse in the downtown area of the city. The building has state-of-the-art office space and courtroom facilities. We also anticipate moving into a brand new office facility within a year across the street from the courthouse. The Las Vegas metropolitan area has a population approaching two million people and is among the fastest growing areas in the Southwest. It is renowned for entertainment and gaming, but also abounds in recreational, cultural and educational opportunities. The influx of people into southern Nevada has increased the availability of excellent and affordable housing, expanded the public school system, and resulted in shopping and consumer services that rival or surpass those of much larger cities. The cost of living is moderate, and there is no state income tax. Although known for its summer heat, our mild climate in the fall, winter and spring provides an ideal place to enjoy the unlimited recreational activities year round. Las Vegas is within a one hour distance of Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and within a day's drive of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Lake Powell, Lake Havasu, Death Valley and several ski areas.
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 United States Attorney’s Office has an opening for an Assistant United States Attorney who will serve as the District of Nevada Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) Coordinator and also have responsibility for cyber-crime/terrorism matters impacting on national security. In that regard, the AUSA selected for this position would be expected to: 1) serve as a conduit for information sharing between federal and state authorities, provide training, and coordinate antiterrorism activities; 2) assist and coordinate as necessary with carrying out the President’s antiterrorism plan, including employing all available law enforcement tools to prevent, disrupt, and defeat terrorism operations before they occur, and vigorously prosecuting those who have committed, or intend to commit, terrorist acts against the United States; 3) promote effective interaction between the ATAC and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF); 4) collaborate with the Counterterrorism Section’s (CTS) Regional Coordinator about priorities and strategy; 5) assist law enforcement agencies in the investigation and response to terrorist threats or incidents, including providing legal support and advice; and 6) maintain an ATAC Plan for the District of Nevada. Depending on the AUSA’s workload as ATAC Coordinator and cyber-crime/terrorism responsibilities, the AUSA will also be assigned other criminal matters for both investigation and prosecution, including, but not limited to, matters involving violent crimes, white collar crimes, narcotics offenses, fraud and immigration.
Assistant United States Attorneys assigned to the Criminal Division must possess the qualities necessary to excel in their mission to enforce the criminal laws of the United States. These qualities include superior advocacy and communication skills, strong analytical ability, management and leadership potential and dedication to duty. Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, investigative agencies, witnesses and crime victims. They must also demonstrate their willingness to meet the higher ethical standards expected of prosecutors in their interactions with opposing counsel and the courts.
Successful candidates will be computer proficient, capable of doing their own legal research and writing and self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Courtroom experience, including jury trials, is preferred. Relevant favorable experience would include investigating and prosecuting or defending complex criminal offenses, such as financial frauds and other white collar offenses, computer crimes or multiple defendant conspiracy cases. Expertise in grand jury practice is also desirable, as is experience with investigatory and prosecution techniques, such as search warrants, grand jury subpoenas, electronic surveillance, tracking devices, and telephone toll record analysis.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Applicants applying for an AUSA position must possess a J.D. Degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of a State, territory, or District of Columbia, and have at least one year of post bar admission experience. Applicants must be active members in good standing of the bar (any jurisdiction).
Preferred qualifications: The ideal candidate will have five or more years of post-J.D. experience. The candidate should possess excellent legal research and writing skills and demonstrate superior organization and public presentation abilities. The candidate should also have significant computer and computer software literacy and familiarity with criminal procedure, in particular fourth amendment law and the use of other investigative tools. Candidates should have an outstanding academic record and litigation experience, including exceptional courtroom skills.
United States citizenship is required.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
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 (EST) on Thursday, March 5, 2015 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.
Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents:
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
NOTE: If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.
If you completed the occupational questionnaire online and are unable to upload supporting document(s):
1. To fax your documents, you must use the following cover page http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf and provide the required information. The Vacancy ID is 1300695
2. Fax your documents to 1-478-757-3144.
If you cannot complete the Application Package online, you may fax all of your materials. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 to receive consideration. Keep a copy of your fax confirmation in the event verification is needed.
To complete the occupational questionnaire and submit via fax:
1. Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire View Occupational Questionnaire.
2. Print the 1203FX form, follow the instructions and provide your responses to the occupational questionnaire items http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/opm1203fx.pdf.
3. Fax the completed 1203FX form along with any supporting documents to 1-478-757-3144. Your 1203FX will serve as a cover page for your fax transmission.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- Required - Your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire (online or 1203-FX).
- Required - Your resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day/month/year). (cover letter optional).
- Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary.
- Required, if applicable - To get Veterans' Preference, you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section under the "Qualifications and Evaluations" Tab above for details regarding what is appropriate Veterans'
Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.
$51,917.00 to $153,176.00 / Per Year.
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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.