[blindlaw] U.S. Attorney posting Southern Texas

[Ross Doerr]

Assistant United States Attorney

United States Attorney's Office

Southern District of Texas

Announcement Number 13-SDTX-02 (MCALLEN-CRIMINAL)

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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. 

Who May Apply: Due to the Attorney General's hiring freeze, only current permanent employees of a U.S. Attorney's Office and EOUSA may be considered and selected.

 

Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas seeks one or more (1 or more) experienced criminal prosecutor to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in its McAllen, Texas office. The incumbent will investigate and prosecute violations of federal laws, primarily involving immigration, drug, and firearms offenses. 

 

About the McAllen Division: If you are looking for a true litigation job, then the McAllen Division is for you! The McAllen Division handles a extremely heavy criminal caseload. A total of 20 attorneys work in the office, 13 of whom prosecute the bulk of the division's criminal cases. The successful applicant will thus have ample and immediate opportunity for courtroom work. 

 

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 (3) years of full-time experience as a licensed attorney. 

 

Preferred Qualifications: Hiring preferences include 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. 

 

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 McAllen, 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 with all documents submitted in one PDF. 

 

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 position is open until filled. The initial cutoff date for receipt of applications is November 9, 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 they are 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 United States 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, politics, marital status, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism. 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, http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/sf0015.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting documents). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of non-service-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 ten percent or more).