AUSA chances Forum

[kzsky08]

Hi all - can people who would know give me some insight as to my chances for AUSA positions?

I graduated from a T-6, clerked on a circuit court, and have 3-5 years of experience. After clerking, I joined the DOJ through the Honors program, in a main justice component doing criminal work.

My plan was to try that for a couple years and then decide if I wanted to stay there or apply for ausa positions. (I had previously done a summer at a USAO and a school year externship at a main justice component.)

After some time at doj, we had an unexpected family emergency--our baby was born extremely prematurely, long hospital stay, extra support needs, etc, my wife had to leave work early in the pregnancy and stay home with the baby far longer than we anticipated. Because of all of this, I left DOJ for private practice, basically because we needed the money and flexibility.

Several years later, our family situation is resolved (everyone is healthy and doing great), and I now want to apply to AUSA positions. I am looking at a range of big to medium districts.

Can people who have been involved in hiring tell me: do I have good chances? Should I apply to border districts and/or term positions, or should I try only other positions first?

If I have a decent chance, roughly how many applications do you think I'll need to do? (I have heard that even when it works out, it sometimes takes a while.)

If I don't have a decent chance right now, what should I do? Would a district court clerkship help? Some white collar defense work? (Right now I'm doing general commercial litigation and some other stuff that is not white collar.)

Thank you in advance for your help. Leaving DOJ felt really necessary at the time, because of the family stuff, but now I'm getting scared that it will look bad and stop me from getting an ausa position, even though it has been my goal since 1L.

[Anonymous User]

I think your resume would still read well even if you left DOJ, and I think your explanation would convince anyone who is still skeptical. Your only obstacle is finding a vacancy. It’s not exactly easy to get hired right now as an AUSA on account of the hiring freeze. And I don’t think there will be any reprieve from that anytime soon.

[Anonymous User]

I think your resume would still read well even if you left DOJ, and I think your explanation would convince anyone who is still skeptical. Your only obstacle is finding a vacancy. It’s not exactly easy to get hired right now as an AUSA on account of the hiring freeze. And I don’t think there will be any reprieve from that anytime soon.

DOJ is hiring around the country. There are, like, 50 vacancies on USAJobs right now. Including places like NDCAL, CDCAL, DDC and other major cities. I just started in a major metropolitan area.

OP, I received an offer to join USAO with slightly above average GPA from a T30 and 2 yoe. You'll be more than fine.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, OP, you’ll be fine. You have all the stellar qualifications USAOs want, you have a good reason for having gone to the private sector, and you’re familiar with DOJ culture already (different USAOs will have different cultures from each other and from Main Justice, but experience working for the Feds always transfers).

And the poster above is right that DOJ is currently hiring. Like many parts of the federal government, USAOs have seen a lot of people leave in the last 6 months and they’re starting to hire again. You can’t guarantee getting hired in any one particular office at a given time, but I don’t think you need to start with border districts or term positions.

Of course hiring priorities/preferences are set by the U.S. Attorney, so they will vary and can be a little up in the air right now if there isn’t yet a Trump USA in place. Anecdotally, I think too that Trump USAs have been a little less likely to fit the T6-elite clerkship-big firm model than under other admins, although that doesn’t necessarily mean they hire differently, especially if the office itself has a strong history of hiring more traditionally “elite” candidates. You do see USAs who come from a local prosecution background and hire for that background, but I think it’s much less common than favoring traditionally elite backgrounds coming out of biglaw.

And it’s not like you have any control over any of that, anyway, I just mention it to emphasize that you can’t guarantee when/where you get hired. But overall, you’d be a strong candidate in the offices where I’ve worked.

To the extent there are things you can do to improve your chances - I don’t think doing a district court clerkship is worth it for that purpose. If you had a burning desire to do one independent of getting an AUSA gig, I’d say go for it, but it’s absolutely not necessary. Certainly more criminal experience and courtroom experience are always going to help (especially depending on whether you were in MJ long enough to get any trial work), so are always worth pursuing if possible.That said, if an office is really prioritizing criminal/trial experience over all else, they’ll probably just go with a local prosecutor (which is to say, don’t panic over not having extensive trial experience, if you don’t, because USAOs generally understand that someone coming out of biglaw won’t have had as much stand up time in court and hire such candidates for potential rather than established record).

Do be prepared to explain why that office/location; some offices are filled with locals/lifers and very much want to know why you want to work there specifically. I think USAOs are sympathetic to the argument that you want that specific job and are willing to move to get it, but some want to hire someone who’ll stick around long term. This is probably less of a concern in a big office/major metro than elsewhere, though.

Unrelated to your chances, but if all else is equal, you might want to take a position where there is a permanent USA in place over one where there isn’t. There can be quite a shift in priorities/culture/personnel with a change in USAs, so you will have a clearer idea of what you’re getting into if you interview with/get hired by a permanent USA. I wouldn’t weight this over other personal priorities (preferred location/office size/kinds of cases), but it’s worth keeping in mind.

[Anonymous User]

Hello anyone with an offer willing to share their timeline? Just curious applicant....

[Anonymous User]

Hello anyone with an offer willing to share their timeline? Just curious applicant....