Special Assistant U.S. Attorney - Civil Division

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Positions

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia

Civil Division

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. has recurring openings in its Civil Division for Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs).  All federal and local government attorneys are eligible.  

Detailees can expect to handle both defensive and affirmative matters at the trial and appellate level.  For more information about the practice areas of the Civil Division, please see below.  While in the Civil Division, detailees will handle their own caseloads, draft and argue motions, and conduct court hearings.  Detailees can expect to appear in U.S. District Court regularly. There is no difference between a regular AUSA and a SAUSA in terms of duties and responsibilities. The Civil Division offers SAUSAs specialized training on its core areas of practice.

Any interested applicant can reach out with questions.  The potential SAUSA may also come to the Office to “shadow” for a morning.  

A resume; written supervisory approval; a joint Memorandum of Understanding; and verification of security clearance will be required.  This is a non-reimbursable detail; the SAUSA’s agency will continue to pay the SAUSA’s salary and benefits.

If you have additional questions about our program, please reach out to Peter Pfaffenroth, Chief of the Civil Division, at Peter.Pfaffenroth@usdoj.gov.

About the Civil Division

Civil litigation involving the Federal government in the District of Columbia is divided among the United States Attorney’s Office, other litigating components of the Department of Justice, and federal agencies that have some degree of independent litigating authority.  The civil litigation assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office includes both defensive (U.S. as defendant) and affirmative (U.S. as plaintiff) cases and matters, which are handled by the Civil Division at both the trial and appellate levels.  Most of the Civil Division’s cases are in Federal District Court and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but the Civil Division does have some cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and does occasionally appear in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

The overwhelming majority of the Civil Division’s defensive cases involve claims made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Federal employment discrimination laws, or the Federal Tort Claims Act.  Other defensive cases include constitutional tort claims, actions involving property on which the United States has a lien, claims involving the immigration laws, cases challenging Social Security benefits determinations, claims by health care providers for additional payments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, Privacy Act claims, third-party subpoenas directed to Federal agencies and employees, and bankruptcy cases in which the Federal government is a creditor.

The Civil Division has a large and productive affirmative practice that principally involves procurement and health care fraud matters.  The District of Columbia ranks among the highest in the Nation in the number of qui tam whistleblower cases brought under the False Claims Act, reflecting the strong working relationships that the Civil Division has established with client agencies and private counsel who regularly represent qui tam relators.  In addition, the Civil Division has developed a specialized fraud practice involving the General Service Administration’s multiple award schedule.

The Civil Division plays an important role in the enforcement of the Lobbying Disclosure Act, which imposes registration and reporting requirements on persons engaged in lobbying activities.  If a lobbyist does not comply with those requirements, and fails to remedy the violation after notification from Congress, the Act provides that Congress shall notify the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Upon receiving such notification, the Civil Division first attempts to secure compliance through informal outreach and follow-up efforts and then, if those efforts are unsuccessful, through civil actions seeking monetary penalties.

The Financial Litigation Unit (FLU) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office is part of the Civil Division.  The FLU collects special assessments, fines, and restitution debts imposed in criminal cases, and civil debts owed to the United States and Federal agencies such as civil judgments and settlements in affirmative cases, and student loan debts owed to the Department of Education.