Legal Careers
Unpaid Law Student Volunteer, Fall/Spring - National Courts Section
Washington, DC 20005 - United States
The National Courts Section is one of the largest, oldest, and most active litigating sections in the Department of Justice. Its primary mission is to protect taxpayer dollars in lawsuits brought against the U.S. Government. The National Courts Section handles a variety of cases involving government contracts, international trade and tariff matters, constitutional claims, government pay and personnel suits, and veterans' and other benefits appeals before the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of International Trade, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the "national courts"). In a sense, the National Courts Section is the "U.S. Attorney" in these specialized courts of national jurusdiction. Because these courts exercise nationwide jurisdiction, National Courts Section attorneys often travel outside of Washington, DC for trials and other matters. The National Courts Section also handles occasional matters in other federal district and circuit courts, as well as in administrative tribunals. For more information about the section visit, http://www.justice.gov/civil/commercial/national-courts/c-natcourts.html
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
Intern assignments closely equate to the work that is routinely performed by National Courts Section attorneys. Typically, this means that interns will be utilized to research and draft appellate briefs, dispositive trial court motions (e.g., motions to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b), motions for summary judgment pusuant to Rule 56), and legal memoranda. Interns may also be assigned to assist attorneys in all phases of trial preparation and trial, and may attend depositions, moot courts and oral arguments.
Weeks/Hours: Academic year interns (Fall or Spring) must commit to work part-time (at least 15 hours per week) for a period of at least 10 weeks. In person strongly preferred, with limited telework.
Must have completed at least one year of law school by the start date of the internship. Top third of class preferred. Candidates must undergo a background investigation. Candidates must also be U.S. citizens or nationals, and must have resided in the United States for at least three of the past five years.
Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, law school transcript (official or unofficial), and a brief writing sample to nationalcourts.interns@usdoj.gov. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Work-study credit possible. Transit subsidy is available. The positions are unpaid.
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Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department 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 of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: 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. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is 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. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: 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 their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
USAO Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. 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.