[nfbwatlk] Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of WA, Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDWA-AUSA-03 (Civil)

[Nightingale, Noel]

Link:
http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/jobs/14-wdwa-ausa-03-civil.htm

Text:

ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Western District of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDWA-AUSA-03 (Civil)

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About the Office: The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Western District of Washington is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the Western District of Washington (WDWA). This includes criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits by and against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. WDWA has an authorized strength of approximately 72 Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs). The USAO is divided into two litigating Divisions (Criminal and Civil). The USAO's main office is in Seattle, Washington, with a branch office located in Tacoma, Washington.

Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The anticipated positions will be located in the Civil Division of the Western District of Washington. AUSAs in the Civil Division are responsible for representing the federal government and its agencies and employees in civil litigation in the District. Two primary areas of practice are tort cases, including medical malpractice and a variety of personal injury cases, and Title VII cases alleging discrimination in hiring and employment practices by agencies of the United States. Other areas of practice include immigration, bankruptcy, debts owed the United States or its agencies, breach of contract, judicial review of administrative findings, and injunctive proceedings. AUSAs in the Civil Division are active at both the trial and appellate levels, taking depositions, preparing and answering interrogatories, negotiating for settlement, engaging in motions practice, trying cases, and writing and arguing appeals.

The attorneys hired for these positions will be assigned a variety of civil matters involving various areas of federal law. Candidates with prior experience in the areas of 1) Bankruptcy; 2) Employment Defense; 3) Torts; 4) Immigration; and/or 5) Collections, are requested to describe their work in these areas in their cover letter and resume.

Who May Apply: Any U.S. Citizen.

Qualifications: The applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least three years post-J.D. experience. Ideal qualifications include at least five years of post-J.D. litigation experience.

Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability and an ability to synthesize a wide range of data, help direct an investigation and have the ability to accurately and precisely articulate the critical issues in a case. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and writing skills, strong research and interpersonal skills, and good judgment. Applicants must possess excellent communication and courtroom skills, and exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff and client agencies. Applicants must have a demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment and in the highest ethical manner.

Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing, and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants also must demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic e-mail and word processing systems.

Travel: Occasional travel within and outside the District 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.

Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorneys' pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of pay with locality adjustment is $54,847 to $145,166.

Location: Seattle or Tacoma, Washington.

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized.

Application Process and Deadline Date: Interested persons must email in pdf format: (a) a cover letter referencing Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDWA-03 (Civil), addressed as set forth below, (b) a detailed resume, and (c) a writing sample meeting the criteria set forth below to:
USAWAW.Hiring at usdoj.gov<mailto:USAWAW.Hiring at usdoj.gov>

Jenny A. Durkan
United States Attorney
Attention: Annette L. Hayes
First Assistant United States Attorney
700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220
Seattle, Washington 98101

This position will be open until filled; however, applications received by Wednesday, February 26, 2014, will be given first consideration.

No telephone calls please.

Writing Sample: Include a sample of your legal writing, such as a portion or all of an appellate brief, memorandum of points and authorities, or opinion letter. The writing sample should be a recent example of your work and demonstrate your ability to analyze legal issues and present that analysis in written form. The sample should be predominantly your own work. If the document was edited by others, include a cover memo that briefly describes the level of editing that occurred.

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

Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint and credit checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

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<http://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).
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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.