Trial Attorney (Asset Forfeiture Fellow)

Department of Justice

Offices, Boards and Divisions

Criminal Division

Summary

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who conceal profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees who violate money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and sanctions laws; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Veterans

Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference

Individuals with disabilities

Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.

Clarification from the agency

Open to all US Citizens, including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.

Duties

As an Asset Forfeiture Fellow in the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit of MNF, the incumbent conducts and monitors investigations, prepares and conducts trials and related litigation, and advises on pleadings and other court filings, in close consultation with Unit management and more experienced attorneys. As a Trial Attorney, the incumbent:

Gains expertise in money laundering and forfeiture laws, supporting and leading financial investigations to dismantle money laundering organizations.
Contributes to the development and maintenance of the Section's program to target financial facilitators; and fosters effective national investigation and prosecution of money laundering. This includes advising on strategy and legal complexities and participating in efforts to develop litigation priorities, policy, and legislative recommendations.
Under the guidance of unit management and more senior prosecutors leads, supports and undertakes the most complex investigations and prosecutions within the federal courts throughout the United States; makes charging decisions and proposes dispositions with regard to assigned cases, issues lacking precedent, and other challenges in compliance with Department, Division, and Section policies and practices.
Coordinates, deconflicts and partners with U.S. Attorneys and attorneys in other federal law enforcement agencies in the development and management of investigations and prosecutions money laundering organizations. Advises and instructs federal agents and U.S. Attorneys on complicated questions of law and Departmental policy.
Consults with, and briefs unit management, as well as the Section Chief and Principal Deputy Chief, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and the Assistant Attorney General as necessary, on the status of all cases and matters related to enforcement against complex money laundering organizations.
Helps to coordinate the preparation and litigation assignments of paralegals and clerical personnel.
Participates in outreach and training conducted by MNF trial attorneys throughout the United States and abroad.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
All male applicants born after 12/31/1959 must have registered for the selective service. If selected, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.
DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
Except as indicated under the qualifications section, applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
A two-year trial period may be required.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:
Interested applicants must possess a J.D., or equivalent, degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing.

Grade Specific Qualifications:

To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must possess a J.D., or equivalent degree.
To qualify at the GS-12 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) year of post J.D. legal experience. Examples of specialized experience include: conducting legal research, drafting opinions and memoranda on criminal and civil matters, and assisting in preparation of dispositions. Applicants who do not currently have one year of post J.D. legal experience may apply for consideration at the GS-12 level if they indicate they expect to have one year of post J.D. legal experience by Fall 2026.
To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one and a half (1.5) years of post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-12 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: performing legal analysis and formulating recommendations to senior managers; composing pleadings, briefs, and other court documents involving legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; and conducting civil or criminal litigation.

Education

A J.D., or equivalent, degree.

Applicants who possess an equivalent degree rather than a J.D. may be subject to additional review by the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.

The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.

The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Additional information on DOJ's EEO policy can be found on our website.

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. Citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please reach out to criminal.crmjobs@usdoj.gov or (202) 514-0361 for alternative application procedures.

Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Human Resources team at CRM.RA@usdoj.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Fair Chance to Compete: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to criminal.crmjobs@usdoj.gov. Note: In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201(b) certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

If you would like to preview the application questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12979514.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s)). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

Required Documents

See "How to Apply"

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes the Assessment Questionnaire and the Required Documents indicated below. The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 06/29/2026.

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. You may preview the assessment questionnaire by clicking https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12979514.

You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF file will undergo conversion by the system. This conversion process may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors. To ensure your submitted resume does not display with formatting issues, please submit your resume as a PDF. This error does not affect USAjobs resumes.

A complete application package must include:

Cover Letter (highlighting relevant experience).
Resume - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Your resume must be no more than 2 pages. Resumes longer than 2 pages will not be accepted. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained within your resume, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally,your resume must include your JD date and the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
Unofficial Law School Transcripts - transcripts must reflect cumulative GPA and J.D. conferral date. If selected, applicants will be required to provide an official copy of their transcript before they enter on duty.
Assessment Questionnaire (you will be prompted to complete this when you apply online).
Documentation of eligibility for special hiring authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. 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.
Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. The Criminal Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to CRM's disability POC at crm.schedulea@usdoj.gov.
Veterans Preference Documentation (if applicable):

If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at www.archives.gov/veterans.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or mother or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable. If you don't have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at https://www.va.gov/resources/getting-started-with-va/ or call 1-800-827-1000.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the assessment questionnaire.

Please ensure you click the "Submit My Answers" button at the end of the process.

Agency contact information

Human Resources

Phone: (202) 514-0361
Email: criminal.crmjobs@usdoj.gov

Next steps

We will notify you of your status as a candidate after each step of the recruitment process (receipt of application, determination of basic qualifications, notice of forward to selecting official, and final selection). After extending a tentative job offer and receiving acceptance by the selectee, we will conduct an employment suitability/security background investigation to confirm that the selectee meets all requirements to fill the position. We expect to make a final job offer once all such reviews have been completed.

Trial Attorney (Asset Forfeiture Fellow) Job in Washington, DC