Assistant United States Attorney (Criminal)

Closing Date: 7th April, 2026

Description:

Summary:
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire is located in Concord, NH and has approximately 24 Assistant United States Attorneys and 29 support staff. The Criminal and Civil Divisions handle significant, complex, and visible cases involving a variety of federal laws. Employment with the U.S. Attorney's Office is a unique, challenging, and rewarding experience for the highly motivated attorney.

Duties:

• The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire is seeking highly motivated attorneys interested in a rewarding and challenging career in public service as Assistant United States Attorneys in the District's Criminal Division. Qualified applicants will join the more than 100,000 dedicated public servants and professionals of the Department of Justice committed to the Department's mission of enforcing federal laws that protect life, liberty, and property, defending the interests of the United States, and ensuring the impartial administration of justice for all Americans. Assistant United States Attorneys in the Criminal Division are responsible for investigating and prosecuting a wide variety of criminal violations related to narcotics trafficking, firearms, violent crimes, child exploitation, human trafficking, organized crime, terrorism, illegal immigration, and white-collar crime, including wire, mail, healthcare, and mortgage fraud.
• The qualified applicant will be expected to (a) lead federal law enforcement agents in structuring and executing criminal investigative strategies and plans; (b) actively participate in grand jury proceedings, including the introduction of evidence and presentation of witnesses; and (c) litigate cases of moderate to high complexity, from charging to sentencing, with limited supervision.
• 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:
The District seeks attorneys who have outstanding legal ability, excellent legal research and writing skills, strong communication and interpersonal skills, high moral character and mature judgment. The ideal candidates can accurately identify legal and critical case-related issues and possess outstanding organizational and time management; the ability to work in a collaborative team environment with other AUSAs, support staff, and investigative agencies; and a demonstrated commitment to professionalism, ethics, civility, and public service. Litigation experience, including criminal trials or federal court practice, is preferred. Successful candidates can conduct their own legal research and writing and are self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings.

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:

• The District seeks attorneys who have outstanding legal ability, excellent writing skills, strong communication and interpersonal skills, high moral character, and mature judgement. Litigation experience, including criminal trial experience, is strongly preferred. Three years post-J.D. experience is preferred. Experience in federal court also is preferred.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Education:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree

Additional Information:

• As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.***
• 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 is $86,923.00 to $197,100.00 which includes 32.58% locality pay.
• Other Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; 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.
• Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.
• 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.

Travel:

• Occasional Travel is required
• 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.

• 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

  ---