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I am planning on moving from Big Law in CA to public interest in Las Vegas. I just received a good offer from a public interest organization that would start in early December. However, I have an in-person interview with the USAO in Las Vegas scheduled for this Wednesday. Understanding that it is absolutely not a given that I am even offered the USAO position in LV, does anyone have any experience with the USAO hiring process (bonus for the Las Vegas office)? What is the absolute fastest I could get an offer? Would USAO be receptive to expediting the process if I tell them I have a pending offer?

Thanks in advance!

This can depend on the office. Often, a specific job posting means the office really needs someone to cover cases. Many people I know, including myself, have received an offer 1-2 weeks after the final interview in these circumstances. It could be different if the office takes rolling applications - not sure what the procedure looks like in those offices, and I have seen some people report a much longer wait to hear back.

A couple of things: 1) are you meeting the USA in person during this interview? I'm assuming yes if you're coming from out of town but generally everyone has to meet the USA before they can get an offer, and 2) logistics just might take longer some places than others (maybe someone required to approve something along the chain of command goes on vacation; federal bureaucracy is a real thing).

I think you absolutely should tell them you have an offer. They may not be able to expedite the process much (e.g. three candidates are flying in for interviews, you're the first, and the last couldn't get scheduled until after Thanksgiving; they're still going to interview everyone before making a decision), but they will want to know what they're working with. You may well find that the timelines don't work, though, so figure out whether you want to 1) accept the PI gig and then renege if you get the USAO, 2) turn down the PI gig in the hope of getting the USAO, or 3) accept the PI gig if you don't get a USAO offer in time, and commit to them and turn the USAO down (if that's the case, though, I would make sure that the USAO knows you need an answer by [whenever] but at that time you'll have to withdraw; better than waiting to see if they give you an offer and only then turning them down).

I also know people who have interviewed and deemed hireworthy, but they don't get the job in the end b/c the timing doesn't work for them, who have been hired in a later round of funding. So I think as long as the interview goes well and you're a gracious normal human being, even if you don't get the job this time round, the door is still open for future conversations.