LCD Intern
Have you considered applying for a public interest fellowship? Are you planning to apply for a government job through one of the Federal Honors Programs? Fellowships and Federal Honors Programs offer excellent legal opportunities for 3L students and recent graduates. The trick, however, is applying early. Most fellowships require applications to be submitted 9 to 12 months in advance of placement. Similarly, all Federal Honors Programs have application deadlines months in advance, and only hire entry-level attorneys from these programs.
For any student considering applying for a public interest fellowship or a government job through the various Federal Honors Programs, this post is for YOU. Below you will find helpful information regarding application tips for fellowships, application deadlines, and resources for finding government jobs.
Also, Law Career Development will be hosting the following agencies on campus this fall.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Thursday, August 20, Noon to 1 pm in room 3201.
- U.S. Department of Justice, Friday, August 21, Noon to 1 pm in room 3203.
- Navy, Marine, and Air Force JAG, Wednesday, September 30.
FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS
The best on-stop-shop for researching post-graduate fellowships is www.psjd.org. Also check out soros.org if you are interested in criminal justice related fellowships, or echoinggreen.org if you are interested in launching an innovative social venture after graduation; these two international fellowship programs fund graduates from many fields, not just law, to do innovative work. If you are considering applying for a fellowship, you should check out PSLawNet’s one-page “dos and don'ts” list for Fellowship Applications. These tips come directly from fellows, funders, and host organization staff. Also, LCD's very own Cynthia Chandler was an echoing green fellow and she has successfully coached applicants in winning equal justice works, Soros, Skadden, and echoing green fellowship. Be sure to schedule an appointment with Cynthia if you want her to coach you through the application process. And in the summers, consider taking her Social Ventures course, through which she coaches students through development of business plans and seed money fellowship proposals for launching social ventures.
If you are interested in launching a new project of an existing nonprofit, or launching your own social venture, and Equal Justice Works Fellowship may be for you.
The 2016 application is open through September 18. Register for these 2016 Equal Justice Works Fellowships webinars for application tips and to learn about sponsorship opportunities in medical-legal partnerships with special guest, Ellen Lawton of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at GWU's Department of Health Policy:
The 2016 Equal Justice Works Fellowship application is available here.
Important reminders:
Review the application ASAP. EJW recommends that prospective candidates review the online application form as soon as possible to familiarize themselves with how it works and to prepare the necessary items required to apply -- the online application, the Certification Form (signed by both candidate and host organization and accompanied this year by a Benefits Summary Sheet) and up to two letters of recommendation.
Begin working on the application early. You will to provide letters of recommendation. There are character limits noted for each text box, and character counts may differ between a word processing program and the application. It is important for candidates to paste the text into the application well in advance of the deadline to ensure that the text fits in the allotted space. The server also becomes increasingly busy as the deadline approaches.
Hard copy documents must be received by September 18. The deadline for submission of the application (must be completed online) is 2 pm PST on September 18th. A signed Certification Form and up to 2 recommendation letter(s) must be received by Equal Justice Works no later than September 18th. These items must be mailed or hand delivered. Faxes and emails will not be accepted.
If you have questions, please email fellowships@equaljusticeworks.org or call (202) 466-3686, extension 202.
Every year GGU students are hired through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General's Honors Program and the Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP). These jobs are outstanding opportunities to jumpstart your career as an attorney for the United States. If you are interested in working for the DOJ as a summer intern or after graduation in 2016, NOW is the time to start planning!
The Department of Justice is an excellent place to begin your legal career, with multiple locations and practice areas to explore. Note to 3L students: The Honors Program is the only recruitment program for entry-level attorneys at the DOJ. The application period opens online July 31 and closes September 8, 2015. Click here to learn more.
HUD’s Legal Honors Program is available to graduating law students (J.D. and LLM programs), and recent law school graduates completing a judicial clerkship. The Honors Program offers 14-month appointments that may lead to permanent positions, pending bar admission. During the program, candidates are assigned mentors, are provided with opportunities to rotate to other offices, and participate in training to develop their legal abilities.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development provides excellent exposure to many legal fields: housing, administrative, legislative, and litigation. The Legal Honors Program is HUD’s only hiring program for entry-level attorneys. Applications will be accepted beginning July 1, 2015 through September 4, 2015. Click here for more information.
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GUIDE TO GOVERNMENT HONORS & INTERNSHIP HANDBOOK
The updated version of this guide is now available here. You can log in to LCDonline to view the password in the "Events" tab. This comprehensive directory includes listings and application deadlines for most student and entry-level positions with government agencies nationwide.
In addition to the DOJ, the following government agencies also hire both law school graduates and summer interns through honors programs:
- Central Intelligence Agency (link)
- Commerce - Office of the General Counsel (link)
- Education (link)
- Environmental Protection Agency (link)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (link)
- Federal Bureau of Investigations (link)
- Federal Election Commission (link)
- Federal Trade Commission (link)
- Homeland Security (Honors link; Summer link)
- Housing and Urban Development (link)
- Interior (link)
- Internal Revenue Service (link)
- Labor (link)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (link)
- Transportation (link)
- Treasury (link)
