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If I

(a) want actual experience in a courtroom;
(b) would prefer to do federal law rather than state;
(c) am not concerned about salary; and
(d) can't live in DC,

then gunning for AUSA positions is the right move. Correct? Are there other alternatives? Thanks in advance!

Being unable to relocate to D.C. pretty much rules out working at Justice and many other federal agencies. My understanding is that AUSA positions require at least a few years of prior litigation experience, so if you're coming straight from law school, those are probably not realistic options. IRS Chief Counsel have offices throughout the country and do hire recent graduates, but you'd have to be willing to do tax litigation.

Have you considered joining a law firm's litigation group?

Thanks for the response. Sure, I'll definitely consider law firms, but I kind of thought an AUSA position would provide more/better courtroom experience with a lower salary being the primary downside. If I'm willing to take the salary hit, then I thought an AUSA job might be the better overall option. Feel free to correct me.

And I'll be coming out of two federal clerkships, so not quite straight from school but still not from any actual experience. Would most AUSA jobs still be closed off for me until I have a few years of actual litigation experience under my belt?

Many firms pay a clerkship bonus, which is attractive to people coming out of clerkships. But if money isn't an issue, an AUSA position is fantastic experience. I'm not sure to what extent USAs hire directly from clerkships, so I'd defer to others on that point.

Super hard to snag an AUSA position out of law school. Most AUSAs I deal with or have dealt with were former big law or solid mid-law litigators. I've bumped into a few career AUSAs that make it in through the honors program (or whatever they call it now). In short - its pretty tough.

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JusticeJackson wrote:Why not go to a DA's office? You'll get more trials than a USAO, depending on the district, the cases might be better than the local USAO, and many districts hire their AUSAs out of the local DA's office.

Well, (b) in my original list of my requirements was the reason, but your post has me realizing that maybe I don't have a very good reason for (b). I think my thought process was something like: federal law is what I'm learning in my clerkships; I wouldn't have to take a new bar exam; and working for an AUSA or in biglaw keeps more doors open and thus provides for better exit options than would working in a DA's office. Do those premises seem off-base?

(More cynically, it may be that my real rationale was: "Golly gee, isn't federal law more prestigious?" Probably not the best reasoning, I suppose, but I do wonder if the previous paragraph highlights some tangible advantages of the types of jobs that supposedly carry more prestige. Fair?)