[blindlaw] U.S. Atty posting, Southern Texas District

[Ross Doerr]

Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Texas 
Announcement Number 12-SDTX-22 (TERM–HOU-HEALTH CARE FRAUD)
About the Office: The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern
District of Texas, with approximately 190 Assistant United States Attorneys,
is among the largest in the country. The office prosecutes federal crimes
and represents the interests of the United States in civil cases. The
Southern District of Texas stretches from the Houston area southwest to the
Mexican border. The United States Attorney's Office operates staffed offices
in Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Houston, Laredo, McAllen, and Victoria. 

Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The United States Attorney's
Office for the Southern District of Texas seeks one experienced criminal
prosecutor to serve a in a term appointment not to exceed September 30,
2013, as an Assistant United States Attorney in its Houston office. The
incumbent will investigate and prosecute criminal violations of federal
laws, primarily involving health care fraud. The successful applicant will
work closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agents and
medical experts to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities that
fraudulently bill Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies for
home health services, durable medical equipment, infusion therapy, physical
therapy, and other health care related products and services.

This is a TERM position not exceed 9/30/13. The TERM appointment may be
extended for an additional period of time without further competition;
however, any extension is not guaranteed and is also dependent upon
budgetary restraints. The incumbent may be considered for placement in a
permanent Assistant United States Attorney position without further
competition during the term of the appointment; however, placement in a
permanent position is not implied or guaranteed. The incumbent will be
required to sign a statement regarding the conditions of the TERM
appointment prior to entry on duty. 

Qualifications: Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D.
degree from an accredited law school, and must be duly licensed and
authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any state or
territory of the United States or of the District of Columbia. Active bar
membership (any jurisdiction) is required. Additionally, applicants must
have at least three years of full-time experience as a licensed attorney. 

Preferred Qualifications: Hiring preferences include significant first-chair
federal criminal trial experience, strong academics, outstanding
organizational skills, superior legal writing and research ability, and a
demonstrated commitment to professionalism, ethics, civility, and public
service. This is a highly specialized position. As such, we are seeking
applicants who currently have several years of experience working on cases
involving health care matters. We are particularly interested in applicants
with litigation experience in handling medical experts and the large volume
of documents involved in billing related to Medicare, Medicaid, and private
insurance companies for home health services, durable medical equipment,
infusion therapy, physical therapy, and other health care related products
and services.

Travel: Occasional travel may be required.

Salary Information: Pay for Assistant United States Attorneys is
administratively determined, based in part on the number of years of
professional attorney experience. The 2012 range of basic pay is $44,581 to
$131,534, plus locality pay. 

Location: Position is located in Houston, Texas. 

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized.

How To Apply: Submit required application materials (described below) via
E-mail to: attorneys.usatxs at usdoj.gov. Please list the vacancy announcement
number in the subject line of your E-mail. PDF format is preferred.

Kenneth Magidson
United States Attorney
United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Texas
1000 Louisiana, Suite 2300
Houston, Texas 77002

No telephone calls or faxes, please.

What To Send: Required materials include: (1) a cover letter; (2) a resume;
and (3) a writing sample of not more than 10 pages. Incomplete applications
will not be considered.

When To Apply: The announcement is open until filled. The initial cutoff
date for receipt of applications is August 15, 2012.

Internet Sites: This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found
at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html

Department Policies: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside
in the district to which he or she is appointed. See 28 U.S.C. § 545 for
district-specific information.

All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a
time-limited (temporary) basis. Temporary appointments may, or may not, be
extended or made permanent without further competition.

The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable
Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will
be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin,
political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age,
sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a
parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the
basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of
Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and
mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its
affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that
persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on
the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides
reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and
hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for
reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and
persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which
screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also
contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background
investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the
Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys'
Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement,
non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but
should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare;
such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the
Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements.
Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be
considered on a case-by-case basis. 

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 include
that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting
documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from
Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions.
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,
www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the
types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s).
Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation
associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of
nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in
the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement
orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement
was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was
transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or
retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).