Closing Date: 31st October, 2025

Description:

Summary:
The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Northern District of West Virginia (NDWV) prosecutes federal offenses, defends the United States Government's interest and affirmatively pursues claims on behalf of the government in civil cases. The USAO-NDWV currently has 47 employees and contractors, and includes offices located in Wheeling, Clarksburg, Elkins, and Martinsburg, West Virginia.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/wvn.

Duties:
Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard is seeking to hire a highly motivated team player with the desire to engage in challenging and important litigation in the Criminal Division with emphasis on Immigration Enforcement, National Security and Public Safety. AUSAs have an opportunity to work on their own caseload and handle their own trials and appeals. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progresses.

Applicants must demonstrate personal integrity, good judgment, analytical ability, and excellent organizational, interpersonal, and litigation skills. In addition, applicants must be willing to follow rules and directives, and work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies.

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.

The applicant must possess superior oral and written communication skills as well as strong interpersonal skills, exhibit good judgment, and have demonstrated capacity to function with minimal guidance in a highly demanding environment.

The applicant will be expected to do his/her own legal research and writing and shall be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must possess computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research, electronic court filing, electronic e-mail and word processing systems.

United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications:You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Education:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree

Additional Information:
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 $63,163 to $148,202 plus locality.

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 (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 will be required.

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.

Diversity Statement: 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.

Additional Information:
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.

Benefits:
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits. (https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/benefits)

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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 in