Summary
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan is seeking the best attorneys to fill positions in our Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. This is an open-continuous vacancy announcement that will remain open until November 30, 2026, or until the positions have been filled. Completed applications will be reviewed everyday Wednesday. As needed, additional selections may be made from this announcement. For more information, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao
Duties
An appointment with the U.S. Attorney's Office offers unique and challenging experiences for the highly motivated attorney. Serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and assigned to the Criminal, Civil, or Appellate Division, you will be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce federal criminal laws that protect life, liberty, and property of citizens. The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan is seeking to hire many AUSAs for our Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. Assignments in the Criminal Division include, but are not limited to: The investigation and prosecution of federal criminal laws involving guns, violence, immigration, terrorism, drug trafficking, crimes against children, government program fraud, health care fraud, other white collar offenses, public corruption, and organized crime. Attorneys are responsible for handling all aspects of investigations and cases, including gathering evidence, researching the law, and appearing in court at hearings and trials. Assignments in the Civil Division include, but are not limited to: Affirmative Litigation: pursuing civil enforcement actions against the public and private entities, and individuals that engage in fraud, violate federal laws, divert controlled substances, or damage federal lands or resources. Attorneys are responsible for handling all aspects of investigations and cases, including gathering evidence, taking testimony, researching the law, drafting pleadings, and appearing in court at hearings and trials. Defensive Litigation: defending the United States, its agencies, and employees in a wide variety of defensive civil matters in federal court, involving tort, employment discrimination, constitutional, Administrative Procedures Act, immigration, and numerous other claims. Attorneys handle all aspects of litigation, including discovery, motion practice, arguments, alternative dispute resolution, pre-trial matters, trials and appeals. Civil Rights: enforcing federal civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin. Attorneys are responsible for handling all aspects of investigations and litigation, including gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, researching the law, drafting memoranda and pleadings, and appearing in court at hearings and trials. Assignments in the Appellate Division include, but are not limited to: Appeals arise from diverse crimes, such as health care fraud, mortgage fraud, other complex fraud, organized drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, alien smuggling and other immigration offenses. Attorneys are responsible for researching, writing appellate briefs and postconviction responses, presenting oral arguments on a variety of complex and novel issues involving the constitution, statutory construction, evidentiary and procedural matters, and sentencing issues. Attorneys also provide real-time trial assistance to our Criminal Division attorneys. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. 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.
Education
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree
How you will be evaluated
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 information is included in their cover letter or resume) and they must submit supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) which verifies their eligibility for preference. 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/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 retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). Reasonable Accommodations: 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.