Department of Justice, Federal Government, Job Searches

Great Job Opportunities For Law School Graduates And Entry-Level Attorneys

Good luck to everyone applying for these and other government jobs.

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Apologies, readers — this year we forgot to publish our annual reminder about the Justice Department’s Attorney General’s Honors Program, which is “the largest and most prestigious federal entry-level attorney hiring program of its kind.” The application period is now closed, and applicants selected for interviews will be notified in late September.

For last year’s application cycle, the Program advertised 236 positions (not counting the seven to eight possible slots for informal participants). For this year’s application cycle, i.e., the 2017-2018 Honors Program, there appear by my count to be a total of 155-57 positions (not counting the eight to twelve possible slots for informal participants).

That’s a sizable drop. Even using the high figure of 157 posts, it’s a dip of 33 percent from last year. But it shouldn’t be a huge surprise, given the DOJ hiring freeze (which remains in effect, at least in part, and which does affect the honors program — see these freeze memos, from February and April 2017).

Does this mean it will be harder to get hired by the Honors Program in this cycle? Not necessarily; it depends on how many applications the program received. The DOJ has managed to attract top talent for leadership positions (the latest being John Demers, the Harvard Law grad, former Scalia clerk, and current Boeing lawyer selected to lead the National Security Division). But it wouldn’t be surprising if U.S. law students, a generally left-leaning bunch, show less enthusiasm for the Justice Department of Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump (at least compared to the Justice Department in an Obama or Clinton 2 administration).

Interestingly enough, the breakdown of Honors Program jobs does reflect the priorities of the Trump administration. The number of overall spots in the Honors Program is down by a third, but the number of spots in the Executive Office for Immigration Review — the lawyers who work on removal proceedings (read: deportation) — is basically unchanged (108 last year, versus 103 this year).

If you missed the Honors Program deadline, don’t despair. There are other great opportunities for law school graduates or young lawyers to serve in the federal government. Here are a few other honors programs and their deadlines (click on each department’s or agency’s name for more information):

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These are just examples. For more opportunities, surf over to USA Jobs. Some of the deadlines are almost here, so act fast.

Good luck to everyone applying for these and other government jobs (including state and local government). The proper role of government is hotly debated right now — but for lawyers across the ideological spectrum, government still offers ample opportunity to serve the public good.

DBL square headshotDavid Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].

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