Legal Intern Positions

The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace, and the candidate(s) selected will be required to pass a drug test to screen for illegal drug use. Internship opportunities are also contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a background investigation adjudicated by the Department of Justice.

Opportunities are available in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (“the Section”) for qualified candidates interested in legal internships (sometimes called “externships”).

The Fraud Section is responsible for conducting grand jury investigations and prosecutions in cases that require centralized treatment because of the complexity of the scheme, the multi-jurisdictional nature of the criminal activity, the sensitivity of the issues, or the necessity for developing model prosecutions to establish the viability of a particular statute, theory, or technique. Fraud Section investigations often involve business crimes such as financial institution fraud; cyber and crypto fraud; fraud in the insurance industry; international criminal activities in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; and multi-district schemes that victimize consumers, such as telemarketing and other mass marketing frauds. The Section’s prosecutions also focus on fraud involving government programs, including health care fraud, procurement fraud, mortgage fraud, as well as investment and securities fraud.

Legal interns will work directly with attorneys on cutting edge legal issues relating to a wide range of economic crime enforcement priorities. Typical intern projects involve researching novel legal issues, drafting litigation documents for active cases, analyzing policy proposals, and helping to draft Section publications. The Section’s work is national in scope and often involves some of the most significant and challenging corporate investigations within the Division. We are looking for proactive and engaged interns to participate in internships either over the summer or during the fall or spring academic semesters.

Other requirements or preferences for the internship program are as follows:

• Internships are open to first (second semester only), second, and third-year law students.
• Internships typically last between ten and twelve weeks. The Section requires a minimum commitment of eight weeks for any internship.
• Summer legal internships are full time. The Section also encourages applications for full-time positions during the academic semesters, though most semester-based legal internships are part-time and require a minimum commitment of 15 hours per week.
• Volunteer legal intern positions are unpaid.
• The Section prefers interns who will complete the internship in-person but will consider candidates who can only participate remotely.    
• Because of the sensitive nature of the work, applicants must pass a background check before a formal offer for an internship can be extended.

The Section considers internship applications according to the following schedule:

• Fall Semester: April 1 through May 31
• Spring Semester: August 1 through September 30
• Summer: December 1 through January 31

Applicants are encouraged to apply at the beginning of an application season, as applications are considered on a rolling basis and all available positions are often filled before the final deadline. 

Please click here to apply. For additional information, please contact one of the Section’s Intern Coordinators: Paul Hayden, Dermot Lynch, or Matt Reilly.