Legal Careers
Law Student Volunteer, Summer 2025
Columbia, SC 29201 - United States
The United States Attorney's Office is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the District of South Carolina. This includes all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits by and against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The district extends over the entire state of South Carolina. The population of our district is over five million people.
South Carolina is a southeastern U.S. state known for its shoreline of subtropical beaches and marsh-like sea islands. Coastal Charleston is a historic city, defined by pastel-colored houses, Old South plantations and Fort Sumter, where the Civil War’s opening shots were fired. To the north is the Grand Strand, a roughly 60-mile stretch of beach front known for golf courses and the vacation town Myrtle Beach. South Carolina is also known for its golf courses, fishing historic districts, and its Lowcountry cuisine.
Selected candidates will be assigned work from the criminal and civil divisions. Our goal is to introduce law students to the federal system and litigation involving the United States. We strive to assist students in developing their legal research and writing skills. Students will perform legal research and writing; draft various pleadings, motions, briefs, and other documents; and assist with witness preparation, depositions, and hearings or trials. Students will also be provided with several opportunities to meet members of the judiciary, representatives of various federal agencies, and to participate in substantive programs to familiarize them with the federal legal system. The Criminal Division may give students an opportunity to work on a wide variety of practice areas, including narcotics, public corruption, healthcare fraud, cybercrimes, terrorism, and other federal crimes. Within the Civil Division, students may work in a wide variety of defensive and affirmative litigation, including employment discrimination, medical malpractice, general torts, constitutional torts, immigration, prisoner litigation, commercial, financial, and civil fraud.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
The internship will begin approximately in mid to late June and last a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks, working approximately 10-15 hours a week.
There is a required background check because of the sensitive nature of the work performed by our office.
To be eligible for this internship ALL of the following requirements must be met:
- Student Status: You must be considered in good academic standings by the school, and be a rising second or rising third year Law Student.
- Grade Point Average: You must have at least a 3.0 GPA.
- Citizenship: Student Interns must be United States citizens or owe permanent allegiance to the United States. (Currently, natives of American Samoa, Swains Island and certain inhabitants of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are the only groups that owe permanent allegiance to the United States.)
- Background Investigation: You must successfully complete a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
- Volunteer Agreement: All interns are required to sign the Participant Agreement (will be completed later during the security process if selected)
Conditions of Employment:
- You must be a United States Citizen or National.
- Background Investigation, credit check, and work history.
- You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
- You must submit a transcript or proof of enrollment with your application.
- You must be at least 16 years of age or older.
- You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine how well you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement.
Applications will be sent to the hiring manager once the announcement closes.
To be considered for this internship, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59pm (EST) on April 9, 2025 to USASC.LawClerkResumes@usdoj.gov.
You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:
- Required: Your cover letter to include the location(s) you are interested in interning in, if selected.
- Required: Your resume showing relevant experience and dates (for full consideration you must include month/day/year) of employment and work schedule for each (e.g., part-time XX hours per week or full-time). Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).
- Required: Current law school unofficial transcript or proof of current enrollment, e.g., recent letter from the registrar's office. (Note: If you are selected for this position, an official transcript will be required prior to your first day.)
- Required: One legal writing sample (5 pages or more)
Uncompensated, Course credit and/or work-study credit are possible depending on school requirements.
Department Policies
The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. To learn more, please visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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.
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.
Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
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.
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).
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.
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.