2nd year small law transactional associate here. I’m a “2nd career” lawyer with about a 10-year career in state government before going back to school. I’m looking at applying for AUSA position in my area. Any advice? Should I take down all my social media, etc? Do political connections help with getting hired?

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My advice is to prepare to be disappointed because these positions are super competitive and people with federal clerkships and biglaw on their resume regularly strike out. Just apply, but don’t expect much.

Some USAOs won’t even consider people with less than 5 years of litigation experience, let alone 2 years of transactional.

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This. USAO is highly competitive and pedigree focused.

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They better be damn good political connections. I've seen them pay off, but it was pretty much always people who clerked/staffed for really senior politicals while on the bench/hill/state AG offices.

One of the easier ways to get a foot in the door is if you're willing to do immigration, CBP and ICE both have SAUSAs who do nothing but immigration work, and frequently bounce over to DOJ and then bigger ausa work. Doj also has short term sausa details with most agencies to do things like traffic tickets and other petty crime prosecutions to get agency attorneys trial experience. Could be a way to make better connections and agencies are generally more open to transactional.

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Is any of your 10 years of state gov experience in litigation specifically? If not, I wouldn’t even bother applying. They’re looking for skilled, experienced litigators who can help handle the case load from day 1. Applying to an AUSA gig from a non-litigating position is an uphill battle, but if you have substantial lit (and preferably 1st chair trial) experience from earlier in your career you still have a chance.

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If you don’t have any litigation experience, it will be very hard to compete with other applicants who do. So I’d say you are unlikely to be hired unless your USAO hires new law school grads and is willing to treat you as one. But there is no harm in shooting your shot! Existing personal/professional connections to other lawyers in the office might help.

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I want to switch.

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