AUSA/USAO hiring Forum

[Anonymous User]

How quick are USAOs moving? Any word from WDVA or MDFL in the best couple of weeks?

[legallydone]

any SDNY/EDNY movement?

[Anonymous User]

any SDNY/EDNY movement?

Can confirm movement in both.

[Anonymous User]

DNJ movement?

[Anonymous User]

Any more info re SDNY/EDNY? Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

can you elaborate re: EDNY/SDNY movement?

[Anonymous User]

any SDNY/EDNY movement?

Can confirm movement in both.

any movement on second round interviews?

[Anonymous User]

Tl;dr: Would taking an in-house litigation role make me less competitive for an eventual AUSA job?

I'm a 6th year biglaw associate targeting a highly competitive office in my major market. Right now there aren't any openings, and I'm pretty sick of my biglaw job, so I'm considering whether to go in-house. How would USAOs look at an otherwise qualified candidate (e.g., fancy clerkships, requisite time in biglaw) who is currently an in-house litigator (lets say at a large tech company)?

[Anonymous User]

Tl;dr: Would taking an in-house litigation role make me less competitive for an eventual AUSA job?

I'm a 6th year biglaw associate targeting a highly competitive office in my major market. Right now there aren't any openings, and I'm pretty sick of my biglaw job, so I'm considering whether to go in-house. How would USAOs look at an otherwise qualified candidate (e.g., fancy clerkships, requisite time in biglaw) who is currently an in-house litigator (lets say at a large tech company)?

AUSA here. Completely anecdotally, I don't know any AUSA who's come from an in-house job. Obviously there are LOTS of AUSAs I don't know, so huge grain of salt here, and honestly no idea if it would make you *less* competitive, but I don't think it's common. In my (limited) experience hiring, no in-house candidates have made it to interviews, but the only in-house candidates I can even remember reviewing just weren't otherwise competitive (like someone who worked for an insurance company for 15 years but had little other experience). And it could just have been luck of the draw.

I do think there's an element of self-selection at work - first (and as a recent thread on this site was making really clear) there are usually a lot fewer in-house positions for litigators, so they can be hard to get, and my impression is that litigators generally have an easier time finding a government gig. So I don't think there are a lot of litigators in in-house positions on the way to transitioning to government. Second, it also seems like a lot of people who want in-house positions are also interested in the more business-y side of things, which is a pretty different path than AUSA. Finally, people who want to get out of biglaw for lifestyle reasons who find a decent in-house position will probably prefer that to AUSA - the hours and pay (even at lower paying companies) are probably going to be better. Obviously not everyone is looking for an AUSA gig just to escape the biglaw lifestyle, plenty of people actually want to do the work. But I do think this tends to mean that most in-house people, even if litigators, are just generally not that interested in becoming an AUSA.

So what I'm saying is in-house applicants aren't a big enough presence in application pools to be able to generalize one way or another about how they're viewed. I think too that it would depend on the kind of work you do in the position and how that work translates into criminal cases. (Working for bigtech probably wouldn't add much in my district given the cases we mostly see, but who knows, it might be of more interest to say NDCA.)

I think a safer path would be to expand your AUSA search to other districts with the intent of starting somewhere and applying to a future position in your target office when you have AUSA experience, but I realize that's not feasible for everyone based on personal circumstances/where in the country you are. (It's just that it's really hard to target a specific office on any specific timeline.) Another option would be to get some other kind of government litigating position in the meantime. Or honestly to work in local prosecution for a bit (though I know that's usually really shitty money). But if you really have all the other qualifications, I don't think in-house litigation would necessarily hurt you. I do think you'd have a shelf-life because the longer you're in-house, the less people will believe you actually want to be an AUSA.

[Anonymous User]

any SDNY/EDNY movement?

Can confirm movement in both.

anyone get second round interviews out of either office?

[Anonymous User]

can you elaborate re: EDNY/SDNY movement?

Hiring and progression through interview rounds

[Anonymous User]

echoing the above - has anyone gotten a second round SDNY interview?

[Anonymous User]

can you elaborate re: EDNY/SDNY movement?

Hiring and progression through interview rounds

Has either office extended any offers under the new USAs?

[Anonymous User]

can you elaborate re: EDNY/SDNY movement?

Hiring and progression through interview rounds

Has either office extended any offers under the new USAs?

Yes

[Anonymous User]

Had interview at USAO in flyover state a little over a week ago. They called all references and my references told me they felt like it went well. Apparently they made it seem like I would be getting an offer. Does anyone know if that is normal for USAO to make it seem like that as to not let people know you might be canned?

Also one of my references I think maybe have been too critical of me so I’m not sure how that one went. It was sandwiched in between two really good references based on their reports of when they were called.

[Publius78]

Any movement in NDIL or NDIN?

[Anonymous User]

Any movement in NDIL or NDIN?

Both are interviewing.

[zipita]

Any knowledge on the interview process for D. MD under the new U.S. Attorney? It looks like the process no longer starts with an interview with the U.S. Attorney and First Assistant.

[Anonymous User]

Any movement in d mass? Been pending for a bit.

[t30gunner]

Any movement in d mass? Been pending for a bit.

Invited for an interview for USAO D Mass last week, got an offer over the weekend.

[Anonymous User]

can you elaborate re: EDNY/SDNY movement?

Hiring and progression through interview rounds

Has either office extended any offers under the new USAs?

Yes

Does anyone know of any recent third-round interviews in SDNY/EDNY/DNJ? I heard that certain applicants were brought in for third rounds with SDNY/EDNY in late December, but I haven't heard of additional third-rounds in January/February.

[Anonymous User]

Any movement in d mass? Been pending for a bit.

Invited for an interview for USAO D Mass last week, got an offer over the weekend.

Congrats! Can you give more info like what position (entry level crim, or something else?), which city (boston Worcester Springfield), and when you applied?

Was there just one interview then offer?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone here have experience interviewing directly for the Criminal Division/District Court side of the DC USAO?

I know it’s rare that the office hires directly into that side, but they recently posted a few vacancies.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have an idea of the timeframe for DNJ interview process? Had a first round interview, wondering how long the whole process might take.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an incoming third-year associate and am looking to apply to the USAO in ~2 years, preferably an office on one of the coasts where my s/o can easily find work. I went to law school to become a prosecutor, so there's a high likelihood that I'll eventually end up at some office. My background is HYS > SDNY/DDC > CA2/DC Cir > NY lit boutique in the fall. I have a few fairly specific questions about how to best position myself when I apply:

1. The mantra seems to be to work with former AUSAs. There are several at my lit boutique, all of whom I've had preliminary chats with. How should I go about reaching out to them, and when should I do that? My end goal is USAO, but I don't want to make it seem like I'm using them/the firm as a means to an end. When should I make it known to them that I'm interested in applying, knowing that the application process can take a year and that it may raise red flags for the firm regarding my intentions?

2. I know I'll get a lot of writing experience at the firm and that writing won't be an issue for my application. Stand up experience will undoubtedly be the biggest issue. How should I optimize my chances at getting the most stand up experience? Should I let the firm know of my "preferences" (which they will ask for), such as having a strong preference for smaller cases where I can work closely with partners?

3. How important is trial experience for my application if I do not have any stand up or second chair roles? I know the firm has a few big cases going to trial, and I can probably join one or multiple of those cases. But my concern is that as someone new, I'll be relegated to more of the grunt work, especially on larger teams. So although I'll technically have "trial experience," that experience may not be particularly meaningful. Should I still try to join those teams because, perhaps, some trial experience is better than no trial experience?

4. I've heard pro bono experience is a hit or miss. If I want to be choosy with the pro bono matters that I target to optimize my chances at stand up experience, what matters should I target? Should I let the pro bono coordinator know of my preference for criminal defense matters?

5. What kind of networking can I be doing right now? Should I be reaching out to alum? What organizations tend to have the most prosecutors?

I understand that everything can "depend" and that nothing is guaranteed. Still, knowing my end goal and my lack of interest in private practice, I'd like to make decisions on the margins that would optimize my chances at the USAO. Thanks.