Assistant United States Attorney

If you are looking for an exciting and challenging career, this is the position for you! With a diverse and talented workforce of over 100,000 men and women, the Department of Justice leads the nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. You can be part of a dedicated team helping to enforce Federal criminal and civil laws that protect life, liberty, and the property of citizens.

Duties

The United States Attorneys Office (USAO), Southern District of Illinois is a fast-paced, collegial, and energetic office which seeks to maintain the highest standards of excellence in the enforcement of federal laws and the representation of the United States. Our headquarters is located in Fairview Heights, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, MO. Our branch offices are located in Benton, Illinois and East St. Louis, Illinois, in or near the federal courthouse. The office presently employs 35 attorneys and 22 support staff.

The Southern District of Illinois is comprised of the lower 38 counties of the state of Illinois and has a population of approximately 1.2 million. Our most populous counties, Madison and St. Clair, are adjacent to the Mississippi River and are within the St. Louis, MO metropolitan area.

The home page for the USAO-SDIL may be accessed at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdil.

Job Description:
The USAO-SDIL is seeking experienced, highly qualified attorneys for litigation and trial advocacy, with the intellect and proven ability to handle federal criminal prosecutions as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in our Fairview Heights, IL office.

Our Criminal Division is divided into two units: Fraud and Corruption and Violent Crimes & Dangerous Drugs. Our criminal caseload consists of white-collar crimes, immigration crimes, drug-trafficking crimes, and crimes of violence, including child exploitation offenses.

AUSAs may be rotated through the various units, to include our Civil Division, depending upon the district's staffing needs.

As needed additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Salary

• $75,815 - $177,877/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.
• Must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
• United States citizenship is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Admission to the Illinois bar is not required but is preferred.
• Three years of post-J.D. litigation experience is preferred.

Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability, good judgment, and superior communication and courtroom skills. Applicants must be team players who exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and client agencies. Applicants must have demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment.

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 must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills, to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic mail and word processing systems.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

The AD-905-21 is the minimum grade level for which applicants may be selected; applicants may be selected up to the AD-0905-29 level, based upon years of experience and qualifications.

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.

Education Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree Other Information Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $75,815.00 to $177,877.00 which includes 20.03% locality pay. Other Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The Benefits link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal Employees. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized. * * * This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. 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. Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances. EEO Statement: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Required - Your responses to the online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
• Required - Your resume showing relevant experience and dates of employment (include day/month/year).
  • Please limit resume to 4 pages
• Required - Cover Letter
• Required - Writing Sample
  • Please limit writing sample to 20 pages
• Required - Proof of bar membership
• Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary.
• Required, if applicable - To receive Veterans' Preference, you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section for details regarding what is appropriate Veterans' Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.

The Point of Contact for this vacancy announcement is Southern District of Illinois who can be reached at 6186283700 or Nanette.Lallish@usdoj.gov

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department's Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.

Suitability and Citizenship: 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. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee's Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is 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. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates who have lived outside the United States for two or more of the past five years will likely have difficulty being approved for appointments by the Department Security Staff. The two-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/12/2025 to receive consideration.

1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.

3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. However, should you not be able to apply online, please contact Southern District of Illinois at 6186283700 or email at Nanette.Lallish@usdoj.gov, prior to the closing date of this announcement to request an alternate method of applying.