[blindlaw] U.S. Attorney posting, Kentucky: uncompensated

[Ross Doerr]

Has anyone on this list ever applied to one of the "uncompensated" postings?
I'm curious about them.
 

SPECIAL ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
(Serves Without Compensation)
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE 
Western District of Kentucky
Vacancy Announcement Number 12-WDKY-02


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

About the Office: The Western District of Kentucky covers 53 western
counties in Kentucky. The main office is in Louisville, Kentucky, with a
staffed office in Paducah and unstaffed offices in Bowling Green and
Owensboro, the sites of federal courthouses. The office presently has 35
attorneys and 42 support staff. The office seeks to maintain the highest
standards of excellence in the enforcement of federal laws and the
representation of the United States.

Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The United States Attorney's
Office for the Western District of Kentucky is seeking applications from
attorneys who are willing to accept an unpaid temporary position as a
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) in the Louisville office. The
successful applicant will serve as a SAUSA with responsibilities that
include researching legal issues, drafting briefs, taking and defending
depositions, producing discovery, attending judicial proceedings, and
conducting hearings and trials. Assignments may include both civil and
criminal cases, as office needs dictate. One or more positions may be filled
from this vacancy announcement.

The term of the SAUSA appointment is 12 months, with a potential for an
additional 12- month extension. At the conclusion of the term of
appointment, the SAUSA will not be hired by this office as an Assistant
United States Attorney (AUSA). However, the SAUSA may apply for AUSA
positions in the office during or after completing service as a SAUSA. Only
applicants with outstanding academic records and superior legal research and
writing skills will be considered. Any applicant invited for an interview
will be required to submit a writing sample. Recent law school graduates
should include a copy of their law school transcript with their application.

Qualifications: Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D.
degree and be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction). If not a
member of the Kentucky Bar, an applicant is encouraged to become a member of
the Kentucky Bar within a reasonable period of time.

Preferred Qualifications: At least one year post-J.D. legal or other
relevant experience is preferred. Outstanding academic record, litigation
experience, including experience in preparation and trial of complex cases;
strong legal research and writing ability; strong courtroom skills; superior
organizational skills; and computer literacy skills. Applicant should have
excellent oral and written advocacy skills. The applicant will be expected
to do their own legal research and writing and shall be substantially
self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. 

United States citizenship is required.

Travel: The SAUSA may be required to travel throughout the Western District
of Kentucky to attend court proceedings, conduct depositions, interview
witnesses, and attend meetings. Travel is also required for training at the
Department of Justice's National Advocacy Center, Columbia, South Carolina.
Infrequent travel to other domestic destinations, including but not limited
to Cincinnati, Ohio, for appearance at the United States Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit, is possible.

Type of Position: This position is temporary, not to exceed 24 months. It
may be extended without further competition.

Salary Information: This is an appointment without compensation.

Note: Employees of the Department of Justice, including uncompensated
Special Assistant United States Attorneys, may not engage in the compensated
practice of law outside of the office. Attorneys are not eligible to serve
as Special Assistant United States Attorneys if they have had an employment
offer deferred by a law firm and received a payment for the period of their
deferral with the expectation of future employment with the law firm, or if
they will receive any payment from a law firm during their unpaid employment
with the Department of Justice. In addition, contractors, including
employees of contractors who do business with the Department of Justice, and
who also are attorneys, are not eligible to serve as uncompensated Special
Assistant United States Attorneys.

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Application Process and Deadline Date: To receive consideration for this
vacancy, resumes must be received by August 13, 2012. No telephone calls,
please. Please reference Vacancy Announcement Number 12-WDKY-02 on your
resume.

Please send a cover letter and resume to:

Sandy Focken
Human Resources Officer
717 West Broadway
Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Internet Sites: Western District of Kentucky:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/kyw/. This and other attorney vacancy
announcements can be found at:
http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html

Department Policies: A Special 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.

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).