In 1993, a small number of Assistant United States Attorneys from various judicial districts across the nation joined together to establish the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (NAAUSA). Chartered in the District of Columbia, NAAUSA is a professional association dedicated to promoting, protecting and serving the common interests of this nation's front-line criminal and civil attorneys.
In 1994, the Department of Justice raised questions about NAAUSA's ability to discuss AUSA compensation issues with the Department, citing 18. U.S.C. 205. Because the Department's concerns raised questions regarding all federal employeee professional associations ability to be advocates for their members, several associations joined together to form the Coalition for Effective Change which lobbied Congress to pass P.L. 104-177, the ‘‘Federal Employee Representation Improvement Act of 1996.
Since NAAUSA was founded, it has worked to be a strong advocate for AUSAs and all AUSAs have benefited from NAAUSA’s work. Today, NAAUSA has a national membership of more than 1,500 Assistant United States Attorneys. NAAUSA's members are professional men and women of integrity, loyal to the Department of Justice, and dedicated to carrying out its mission of serving the cause of justice.
In recent years, NAAUSA has joined the Department in voicing opposition to legislation inimical to the Department's mission and institutional interests. For example, NAAUSA and the Department worked together to defeat legislation that would have transferred the authority to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by AUSAs from the Office of Professional Responsibility to the DOJ Office of Inspector General.
NAAUSA membership represents 30% of all AUSAs and includes more than 175 supervisory AUSAs such as First Assistants and Civil and Criminal chiefs.
