Closing Date: 31st December, 2025
Description:
Summary:Our mission is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States, provide Federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. We strive to build a stronger office through recruitment efforts and by promoting professional development. We seek to further build on the legacy of excellence built by those who have come before us.
Duties:
Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) in the Civil Division are responsible for representing the federal government and its agencies and employees in civil litigation pending in the Western District of Texas and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Typical defensive practice areas include employment disputes, tort actions, judicial review of agency decisions, and cases challenging the constitutionality of federal statutes and regulatory schemes. Typical affirmative practice areas include healthcare and procurement fraud, opioid diversion, and litigation to impose civil penalties for violations of the nation's health, safety, and economic welfare laws. Other areas of practice include immigration, land condemnation and bankruptcy. AUSAs in the Civil Division are active at both the trial and appellate levels, taking depositions, preparing and answering interrogatories, negotiating for settlement, engaging in motions practice, trying cases, and writing and arguing appeals. The Office is seeking applicants for immigration, bankruptcy, land condemnation, affirmative, and defensive positions.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment 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.
Residency Requirements: 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.
Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
- You must be a United States Citizen or National.
- Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
- You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
- J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.
- Must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1* year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications:
Hiring preferences include strong academics, outstanding organizational skills, superior legal writing and research ability, demonstrated analytical ability, good judgment and courtroom skills, and a commitment to professionalism, ethics, civility, and public service.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
Education:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree.
Additional Information:
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay for AD-21 through AD-29 is as follows:
- El Paso: $73,939 to $193.394 which includes 17.06% locality pay.
- San Antonio: $75,025 to $195,100 which includes 18.78% locality pay.
- Austin: $76,017 to $195,100 which includes 20.35% locality pay.
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies (http://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/attorneys-vacancies) and Volunteer Legal Internships (http://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/volunteer-internship-opportunities). 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.
Travel:
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Type of Position: All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
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.
Political Appointees (Current and Former): Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment 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.
EEO Statement: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Evaluation Method: Once your complete application package is received, it will be reviewed to ensure you meet all job requirements. An attorney interview panel will then review all qualified applicants and make recommendations for invitation to interview. You will be notified if selected for an interview.
The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Veterans' Preference: 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 indicate their preference in response to the appropriate question in their assessment questionnaire (it is also recommended that information is included in their cover letter or resume) and they must submit supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) which verifies their eligibility for preference. 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, http
