Hiring Organization
USAO Southern District of Illinois
Hiring Office
Fairview Heights, IL
Attorney Appointment Type
Attorney Permanent
Job ID
26-ILS-12916559-AUSA
Location:
9 Executive Dr.
Fairview Heights, IL 62208 - United States
Application Deadline:
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
About the Office
The United States Attorneys Office (USAO), Southern District of Illinois is a fast-paced, collegial, and energetic office which seeks to maintain the highest standards of excellence in the enforcement of federal laws and the representation of the United States. Our headquarters islocated in Fairview Heights, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Our branch offices are located in Benton, Illinois and East St. Louis, Illinois, in or near the federal courthouse. The office presently employs 30 attorneys and 22 support staff.
The Southern District of Illinois is comprised of the lower 38 counties of the state of Illinois and has a population of approximately 1.2 million. Our most populous counties, Madison and St. Clair, are adjacent to the Mississippi River and are within the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area.
Job Description
The USAO-SDIL is seeking experienced, highly qualified attorneys for litigation and trial advocacy, with the intellect and proven ability to handle federal criminal prosecutions as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in our Fairview Heights, IL office.
Our Criminal Division is divided into three units: Fraud and Corruption, Violent Crimes, and Dangerous Drugs. Our criminal caseload consists of white-collar crimes, immigration crimes, drug-trafficking crimes, and crimes of violence, including child exploitation offenses.
AUSAs may be rotated through the various units, to include our Civil Division, depending upon the district's staffing needs.
As needed additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Conditions of Employment:
You must be a United States Citizen or National
Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes, fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.
Must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are required to serve a 2-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
Political Appointees (Current or Former):
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree (or equivalent), be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction).
United States citizenship is required.
Preferred Qualifications:
Admission to the Illinois bar is not required but is preferred.
Three years of post-J.D. litigation experience is preferred.
Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability, good judgment, and superior communication and courtroom skills. Applicants must be team players who exhibit the ability towork in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff, and clientagencies. Applicants must have demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment.
Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants must also demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills, to include experience with automated research on the Internet, electronic court filing, and electronic mail and word processing systems.
You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
Application Process
This is an open-continuous announcement for an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of our Fairview Heights, IL office. First-round consideration will be given to applications submitted by April 20, 2026, 11:59 pm EDT. Thereafter, review of applications received from this announcement will be conducted periodically to fill additional positions as they become available within the district.
Applications and supporting documentation for this position (26-ILS-12916559-AUSA) must be submitted through USAJobs at the following link within the stated recruitment period: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/844572900
Recruitment for this position is open Friday, March 20, 2026 through 11 : 59 (ET) Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire, completed automatically during the online process.
Required: Cover Letter
Required: Writing Sample (Limit to 20 pages)
Required: Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - see USAJOBS for formatting requirements. Include relevant employment history as outlined below for each job:
Official position title (if Federal, include series/grade),
Employer name and contact information,
Start and end dates (for full consideration you must include month, day, and year),
Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and
A list of duties performed and accomplishments.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Required - Proof of bar membership,
Required, if applicable - A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action)
Required, if applicable - For Veterans' Preference, you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section for details regarding what is appropriate Veterans' Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.
The point of contact for this vacancy announcement is Nanette Lallish who can be reached at
[email protected].
How You Will be Evaluated: Once your complete application package is received, it will be reviewed to ensure you meet all job requirements. An attorney interview panel will then review all qualified applicants and make recommendations for invitation to interview. You will be notified by phone or email if selected for an interview.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Salary
Assistant United States Attorney pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $78,695.00 to $184,647.00 which includes 20.03% locality pay.
