USAO or DOJ Main? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Attorney attempting to lateral. I'm deciding between a USAO and DOJ Main. Does anyone have thoughts on either, by way of work life balance, travel requirements, exit options, doors opening, etc?

The USAO is a very large one. The DOJ Main position is a specialized criminal litigation gig. Both locations are desirable to me. Just curious about what I may not know from knowledgeable perspectives. Thanks.

[andythefir]

What's your ultimate goal? DC is really good for making connections and moving up within the DOJ, and even within a particular USAO, it's helpful to have those contacts. If you want to retire from the other USAO as a mid level, I'd prefer to get started making relationships within one USAO.

[Anonymous User]

Current Main Justice Prosecutor Here:
It all depends on your goals and your current situation:
1. If DOJ Main it depends on component-for simplicity it can be broken down into litigating vs non-litigating component. Litigating components are way more competitive and open more doors that non-lit components. Within the Lit components there are pros and cons that vary depending on your personal preference.
2. For USAO- it depends what you want? QOL IMO at a USAO is worse than QOL at Main. This is due to the types of cases and pace of work that a USAO deals with compared to Main. Note that I am comparing QOL at prestigious big offices-SDNY, EDNY, SDFL, EDVA, NDIL, SDCA, CDCA.
3. If you want to be within government for the rest of your career- DOJ Main. It allows you opportunities to detail to the front office, make connections- which can allow for greater ability to become a supervisor, chief, DAAG.
4. If you want to go into private practice-USAO as it will allow you more time in court in a particular jurisdiction, and usually more trials than someone at Main. Firms will want this experience as well as your familiarity with the court, as well as potentially varied experience (usually with some in White Collar) in different types of cases. However, some components within Main can give you the same opportunities, especially working within Fraud (FCPA, Securities, etc).
5. Money-DOJ Main prosecutors are on the GS scale and make significantly more than their USAO counterparts. It is actually quite unfair especially considering the QOL of USAO prosecutors.

I could go on with the differences if you could share what components and USAOS you are looking at.

[Anonymous User]

I think the money thing is huge. I’m 5 years out from law school and work in a non-doj agency. I make significantly more than the AUSAs I work with that have double my experience.

[andythefir]

I think the money thing is huge. I’m 5 years out from law school and work in a non-doj agency. I make significantly more than the AUSAs I work with that have double my experience.

That’s something this site doesn’t alert people to enough. I know some folks who took pay cuts to go federal from a DAs office. Most AUSAs don’t make even the 50th percentile until they’re well into the 9+ year band.

[Anonymous User]

I know some folks who took pay cuts to go federal from a DAs office.

This happens, but only where DAs are unusually well paid - I can think of only 2 jurisdictions where it's realistic. I know a lot of people who went from DA --> USAO because the money was better. Not denying it's less than Main Justice, of course, which still sucks.

(AUSA who agrees with Main Justice Prosecutor.)

[Anonymous User]

There's pros and cons to both. Obviously, if you're talking about future prospects and doors opening, becoming an AUSA at SDNY, EDNY, or EDVA is a golden ticket assuming you get on the right cases. But AUSAs in each of those districts work grueling hours, similar to biglaw and their hiring standards are insane. In EDVA, Alexandria, for example, most of the younger AUSAs went to Yale or Harvard (or UVA, obviously). They came from places like Supreme Court Clerkships, Wachtell, or Williams & Connolly. And a ton of them have military experience in addition to elite credentials. Obviously, EDNY and SDNY are similarly competitive. All this, and they get paid FAR less than Main Justice Trial Attorneys (that is what litigators at Main are called). That being said, AUSAs travel far less than their counterparts at main justice and they go to court far more frequently (if not trials, then hearings on motions, Initial appearances, sentencings, etc). AUSAs also handle the motion practice of their own cases and have wide discretion in how to pursue their cases. Even outside of the "prestige" districts, I get the sense that AUSAs are among the most well-respected trial attorneys in their jurisdictions. Main Justice Attorneys, however, get to pick their cases and often work on the most significant litigations anywhere in the country. They can potentially learn about many different jurisdictions and build useful connections all over the country.

Both seem like great gigs. On balance, I would go with being an AUSA. You can always lateral to main justice at some point after being an AUSA, but its always going to be very very difficult to get an AUSA job.

[61264]

Current Main Justice Prosecutor Here:
It all depends on your goals and your current situation:
1. If DOJ Main it depends on component-for simplicity it can be broken down into litigating vs non-litigating component. Litigating components are way more competitive and open more doors that non-lit components. Within the Lit components there are pros and cons that vary depending on your personal preference.
2. For USAO- it depends what you want? QOL IMO at a USAO is worse than QOL at Main. This is due to the types of cases and pace of work that a USAO deals with compared to Main. Note that I am comparing QOL at prestigious big offices-SDNY, EDNY, SDFL, EDVA, NDIL, SDCA, CDCA.
3. If you want to be within government for the rest of your career- DOJ Main. It allows you opportunities to detail to the front office, make connections- which can allow for greater ability to become a supervisor, chief, DAAG.
4. If you want to go into private practice-USAO as it will allow you more time in court in a particular jurisdiction, and usually more trials than someone at Main. Firms will want this experience as well as your familiarity with the court, as well as potentially varied experience (usually with some in White Collar) in different types of cases. However, some components within Main can give you the same opportunities, especially working within Fraud (FCPA, Securities, etc).
5. Money-DOJ Main prosecutors are on the GS scale and make significantly more than their USAO counterparts. It is actually quite unfair especially considering the QOL of USAO prosecutors.

I could go on with the differences if you could share what components and USAOS you are looking at.

Do you mind if I ask you some questions about DOJ honors? I'm going to apply next month.

[61264]

Current Main Justice Prosecutor Here:
It all depends on your goals and your current situation:
1. If DOJ Main it depends on component-for simplicity it can be broken down into litigating vs non-litigating component. Litigating components are way more competitive and open more doors that non-lit components. Within the Lit components there are pros and cons that vary depending on your personal preference.
2. For USAO- it depends what you want? QOL IMO at a USAO is worse than QOL at Main. This is due to the types of cases and pace of work that a USAO deals with compared to Main. Note that I am comparing QOL at prestigious big offices-SDNY, EDNY, SDFL, EDVA, NDIL, SDCA, CDCA.
3. If you want to be within government for the rest of your career- DOJ Main. It allows you opportunities to detail to the front office, make connections- which can allow for greater ability to become a supervisor, chief, DAAG.
4. If you want to go into private practice-USAO as it will allow you more time in court in a particular jurisdiction, and usually more trials than someone at Main. Firms will want this experience as well as your familiarity with the court, as well as potentially varied experience (usually with some in White Collar) in different types of cases. However, some components within Main can give you the same opportunities, especially working within Fraud (FCPA, Securities, etc).
5. Money-DOJ Main prosecutors are on the GS scale and make significantly more than their USAO counterparts. It is actually quite unfair especially considering the QOL of USAO prosecutors.

I could go on with the differences if you could share what components and USAOS you are looking at.

I got your pm, thanks for reaching out. Apparently I cannot message you because I’m newly registered to this forum.

Hijacking this thread aside, I just wanted to ask you about strategically applying to different components. An applicant can only apply to three “formal” participating components. But there is no limit on the “informal” components, and this list includes a handful of US Attorney’s offices and Tax Crim. If I apply to all USAOs (along with main crim, maybe civil and tax crim), am I overstretching? Particularly as one of the essay questions is usually “what attracts you to the components you selected?” My answer regarding the USAOs will be why I want to work for a US Attorney’s Office in general, and will not be tailored to a specific district, especially as I have no ties to almost of the districts.

[Anonymous User]

(Not the anon above, but an anon AUSA) I don't think there's any problem applying to all the unofficial component USAOs - offices are interested in ties but yes, the reasons you want to be an AUSA aren't really going to vary by office. I'm not sure how frequently the unofficial components actually do hire through the Honors program, but there's no reason to rule yourself out of anything.