Department of Justice

DOJ Seeks To Exploit The Unpaid Labor Of An Experienced Attorney

You're worth more than that.

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Unpaid labor, whether in the form of unpaid internships or full-time positions, is a societal ill. It blatantly exploits those who have the financial means to do work without pay, and robs those who actually need to get paid for the work they do of meaningful experiences. But that doesn’t mean the federal government is somehow above using this cheat code.

We’ve written about this phenomenon before — beginning way back in 2011. But 10 years later and not much has changed, because the Department of Justice is, yet again, seeking experienced, barred attorneys to commit to a full-time, unpaid job. Hmmmm, I wonder just who is in a financial position to take advantage of this “opportunity” [all the side eye]. As the tipster who sent the below job listing to Above the Law noted, “The actual audacity.”

The DOJ is far from the only ones do pull this: everyone from the private sector to federal judges to law schools have all benefitted from unpaid labor. And I’m sure sometime in the future we will again see the DOJ asking for free legal work. But recognize it for what it is — a way to benefit those who are already rich and punish those with the audacity to be poor.

And that sucks.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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