Closing Date: 2nd March, 2026
Description:
Job Description:The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana is currently soliciting applications for a general Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) position in its Civil Division.
The Civil Division represents the United States, and its agencies and employees, in a wide variety of matters, including federal tort, employment discrimination, immigration, constitutional, bankruptcy, and administrative challenges. The Division also represents the United States as the plaintiff in affirmative civil enforcement cases involving health care fraud, procurement fraud, diversion of controlled substances, and civil rights violations. As an AUSA in the Civil Division, you will be responsible for all aspects of litigation, including, investigating cases, conducting legal research, preparing briefs, interviewing and deposing witnesses, appearing in court, and negotiating settlements. Civil AUSAs are given significant autonomy to use their judgment and professional skill to pursue justice and do the right thing under the law and Department policies.The successful candidate will be responsible for a wide variety of civil matters, including, but not limited to, defensive litigation (such as personal injury, medical malpractice, and employment discrimination), constitutional claims against federal employees, and affirmative civil enforcement (including healthcare fraud, procurement fraud, financial fraud, and pharmaceutical diversion). The selected candidate will also defend immigration cases, including cases brought by detainees challenging their continued detention, cases challenging the government's denial of immigration benefits applications, and other casework related to illegal immigration. And the selected candidate will bring, or assist the Civil Rights Division in bringing, actions to protect civil rights. Day-to-day responsibilities include working with client agencies to gather information, engaging in motions practice, preparing and answering discovery requests, conducting investigations, defending and taking depositions, retaining and working with experts, negotiating settlements, trying cases, and briefing and arguing appeals.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
The open position could be located in Hammond, South Bend or Fort Wayne.
Location Information:
Hammond, Indiana is located in Northwest Indiana. Minutes away from Chicago, Northwest Indiana offers low-cost, high-quality living and highly competitive salaries at the Chicago locality rate. The proximity of Chicago also offers a strong legal community, art and cultural institutions, world-class entertainment, and dining. The area boasts a variety of living options - from urban living and suburbs to small towns and rural communities. Northwest Indiana is also home to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park and the Indiana Dunes State Park - both offering trails, camping and beaches along Lake Michigan. For more information about the area, visit www.nwiforum.org
South Bend is located in the heart of the Great Lakes region between Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, and Indianapolis. The home of the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School, South Bend has a flourishing legal community and provides unique experiences through sports, arts and cultural heritage events, vibrant downtown riverfront communities, and extensive outdoor recreation and shopping venues, all just 90 miles east of Chicago. For more information about the area, visit www.visitsouthbend.com.
Fort Wayne is the second-largest city in the state of Indiana, and the hub of Northeast Indiana. Northeast Indiana is in the middle of it all, located just three hours or less by car from Midwest cities including Chicago, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis - but with its own unique vibe and easygoing lifestyle. Fort Wayne consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the U.S. and boasts some of the nation's lowest cost of living. The Northeast Indiana region fits all kinds of lifestyles for those who want to stay busy in Fort Wayne's vibrant downtown, relax in the laid-back small communities, or seek outdoor adventure in the northern lake counties.
For more information about the area, visit www.neindiana.com and www.visitfortwayne.com.
To learn more about the state of Indiana, visit www.visitindiana.com.
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) one year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications:
Ideal qualifications include at least 3 or more years of post-J.D. experience litigating cases in federal or state courts, with substantial responsibility for all aspects of discovery and trial in civil matters. The ideal candidate also will have substantial experience conducting discovery, legal writing and oral advocacy experience, legal practice in federal court (or a federal court clerkship), and/or experience handling settlement negotiations.
Applicants should have a strong work ethic, excellent research and writing skills, as well as strong oral advocacy skills to represent the DOJ in a variety of contexts including, but not limited to, court hearings, depositions/interviews, and settlement conferences.
Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic e-mail and word processing systems.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
Conditions of Employment:
U.S. Citizenship: You must be a United States Citizen or National.
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.
Licensure Requirement: You must possess a J.D. degree and be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction). You will be required to maintain an active bar membership in "good standing" in order to retain employment.
Education:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree.
All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criterion, see www.ed.gov.
Additional Information:
Other Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The Benefits link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal Employees.
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.
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 le
