The United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Southern District of Florida (SDFL) is seeking several experienced attorneys to serve as Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) in the Civil Division either (1) primarily handling affirmative civil enforcement (ACE) investigations and litigation in connection with federal health care benefit programs or (2) defending the United States and its agency clients in connection with defensive litigation (Civil Defensive).
Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1* year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience. United States citizenship is required. Preferred Qualifications: For both the ACE and Civil Defensive position, preferred applicants will possess clerkship experience, strong academic credentials, and superior oral and written communication, legal research and writing, and interpersonal skills. Fair and sound judgment and the capacity to function in a highly demanding environment with minimal guidance are also strongly preferred. For the ACE position, preferred applicants will have at least six years of post J.D. complex litigation and investigatory experience. For the Civil Defensive position, preferred applicants will have at least 2 years of post J.D. litigation experience and the organizational ability to handle a large caseload. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
If selected for an ACE position, you would be part of a dedicated team handling a wide variety of whistleblower actions and direct referrals from the Department of HHS, the FDA, and the DEA. These matters implicate potential health care fraud and other frauds, including cases involving the medical necessity of health care services, the payment of kickbacks to secure health care referrals, and fraud in the provisions of managed care. AUSAs handing ACE cases will work closely with agents, medical experts, auditors, forensic accountants, and nurses to analyze the complex factual and legal issues these cases raise and must exercise sound judgment during the investigation and resolution of these cases. Because most cases are resolved through settlement, these AUSAs spend substantial amounts of time in formal and informal settlement negotiations. Other cases are litigated if the government decides to file a complaint in intervention. In those cases, the assigned AUSA becomes engaged in written discovery, depositions, motions practice, hearings, and trials in federal court. Some cases are handled jointly with attorneys in other U.S. Attorney's Offices and/or attorneys in the Civil Frauds Section, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, DOJ. If selected for a Civil Defensive position, you would represent the interests of the United States and its agencies and employees in a wide variety of civil defensive litigation, including a diverse caseload of personal injury, premises liability and other common law tort litigation, Bivens civil rights suits, statutory and constitutional challenges to government programs, Administrative Procedures Act actions, and employment discrimination cases. Civil Defensive AUSAs spend substantial time analyzing factual and legal issues and engaging in written discovery, working with fact and expert witnesses, taking and defending depositions, engaging in motions practice, mediation and settlement conferences. Civil Defensive AUSAs also handle dispositive hearings in federal and state courts, trials in federal court and may occasionally practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Both ACE and Civil Defensive AUSAs will also be assigned immigration cases and various other litigation matters. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. Position Requirements: Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation. Residency Requirements: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.