| Introduction We
thank you for your interest in the United States Department of Justice and for
the opportunity to introduce you to the many challenging opportunities available
here. This information is specifically for law students interested in working
at the Department during law school, immediately following graduation, or following
a judicial clerkship. It provides a brief sketch of all the Department organizations
that employ attorneys, explains where the employment opportunities are, and how
to apply to each program.
This site highlights three of the Department’s
recruitment programs:
The Attorney
General’s Honors Program (Honors Program)
The Honors
Program is the Department’s entry-level recruitment program and is the only
way the Department hires graduating law students. Students apply their third year
of law school for an entry-level position following graduation. Judicial law clerks
and full-time LL.M. candidates are also eligible to apply to the Program. There
are more than thirty separate organizations that employ attorneys in the Department.
Usually, nine of them formally participate in the Honors Program: the Antitrust,
Civil, Civil Rights, Criminal, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions;
the Federal Bureau of Prisons; the Executive Office for Immigration Review; and
the U.S. Trustees’ Offices. These organizations employ the largest number
of attorneys and, consequently, have the greatest need for legal talent. There
is a specific application for this Program and an absolute deadline date, usually
falling in the last week of September. Application procedures and eligibility
requirements are referenced in the first section of this booklet (see page 4).
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices do not hire graduating law students and, therefore,
do not participate in the Honors Program.
The
Summer Law Intern Program (Summer Program)
The Summer
Program is the Department’s recruitment program for compensated summer internships.
Seven organizations formally participate in the Summer Program: the Antitrust,
Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions; the
Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The majority
of the students applying for summer internships are in their second year of law
school. Graduating law students are eligible for a summer internship before entering
a judicial clerkship or full-time LL.M. program. Like the Honors Program, the
Summer Program has a specific application and an absolute deadline date, usually
in the last week of September. Application procedures and eligibility requirements
are referenced in the Eligibility/Application Procedures section of this site.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices do not hire summer interns through the Summer
Program.
The
Legal Intern Program
In addition to the Summer Program,
the Department also recruits legal interns through the Legal Intern Program. While
the majority of these legal internships are volunteer (unpaid), there are also
work-study internships available as well as a few compensated part-time positions.
The internships are highly sought after because they offer the opportunity to
develop legal skills while working on challenging assignments. These internships
are available during the academic year as well as during the summer. The 94 U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices recruit significant numbers of interns through the Legal
Intern Program. User's
GuideThis document
is divided into three major sections:
The
first section describes both the Honors and Summer Program and provides information
about applying for employment:
Eligibility
Requirements
Application
Procedures Interviews Salaries Conditions
of Employment This
section also explains the Legal
Intern Program, including eligibility requirements and the application process.
The second section describes the organizations
in the Department that employ attorneys. The organizations that employ more
than 100 attorneys are profiled. Usually, ten of these organizations formally
participate in the Honors Program. These same organizations formally participate
in the Summer Program with the exception of the Criminal Division and the Executive
Office for U.S. Trustees.
The 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are the
only Department organization employing more than 100 attorneys that does not formally
participate in the Honors or Summer Program. These profiles are followed by brief
descriptions of Department organizations that employ less than 100 attorneys.
The organizations which do not formally participate in the Honors or Summer Program
nonetheless do occasionally hire Program applicants as entry-level attorneys and
summer law interns.
Individuals interested in employment with the Department
outside of the Washington Metropolitan Area should take note of the section of
the site, titled the “Directory
of Field Office Locations Employing Attorneys.” This directory provides
information about Department field offices in specific geographic areas.
Additional information on the Honors, Summer and Legal Intern Programs can be
found on the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management (OARM) web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/.
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