Government
Judicial Clerkships
- The Vermont Law School 2010 Guide to State Judicial Clerkship Procedures
- Federal Court and Tribal Court Web Sites
- Information About U.S. Courts
- International Courts and Tribunals
- Georgetown Law's J.D. Office of Career Services Information Regarding Clerkships
- International Court Web Sites
- List of Federal Courts
- NALP Information on Judicial Clerkships
- State Court Web Sites
- State Court Employment Opportunities
- Specialty Courts
- The Courts: An Excellent Place for Attorneys of Color to Launch Their Careers
- Recent judicial nominations and confirmations: Yale Law School Library
- International Courts and Tribunals
Fellowships
Government Honors Programs
Honors Programs are one avenue by which federal government agencies hire LL.M. students for entry-level positions. These programs provide students with excellent training and exposure to an agency or department and also increase their likelihood of obtaining permanent, postgraduate employment with the agency or department. Each program has a unique set of requirements, application procedures and deadlines. You must carefully review each program's requirements.
To find out about Honors Programs and other government hiring:
- Search the University of Arizona College of Law Web site at www.law.arizona.edu/career/honorshandbook.cfm (obtain the username and password from OPICS)
- Review NALP-The Association for Legal Career Professional's Annual Federal Legal Employment Opportunities at http://www.nalp.org/uploads/FLEOG_2009_2010.pdf
- Review OPICS' list of suggested Web sites for public interest and government jobs, at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/opics/index.html
- Check Georgetown Law's Job Listings on Symplicity
Browse agencies' Web sites for information and applications guidelines
Contact individual departments and agencies
The application deadlines for government hiring programs are often in flux. Agencies may change their recruiting plans based on Congressional budget decisions, election results and staff turnover.
The Tax Directory
- Joint Committee on Taxation
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Internal Revenue Service
- U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division
- Other Executive Branch agencies and courts
- Current state and international tax officials
- Additional information can be found on the Tax Analyst Web site.
Capitol Hill Employment Resources
Aside from regularly reading Roll Call and The Hill, students considering law and policy work on Capitol Hill should become very familiar with the House and Senate Employment Offices, vacancy announcements resources, Resume Banks and online sources of vacancies and application information, including the following:
United States House of Representatives
- U.S. House of Representatives Office of Human Resources
H2-B72 Ford House Office Building (HOB)
Fax: 202-226-7514
http://www.house.gov/content/jobs/ - U.S. House of Representatives job line phone number: 202-226-4504
House Human Resources Vacancy Announcement Lists
B227 Longworth HOB
United States Senate
- U.S. Senate Placement Office
Room SH-142 Hart Senate Office Building (SOB)
Phone: 202-224-9167
http://www.senate.gov/visiting/common/generic/placement_office.htm
- U.S. Senate Employment Bulletin:
http://www.senate.gov/employment/po/positions.htm
Citizenship Requirements for Government Positions
In order to be eligible for "competitive civil service" positions with the U.S. government, you must be a U.S. citizen or, in some cases, hold citizenship with an "Allied Nation," as defined by the U.S. government and U.S. treaties. If you are neither a U.S. citizen, nor a citizen of a defined "Allied Nation," you do not qualify to apply for a compensated position with almost any U.S. Government agency.
Employment rules for "Allied Nation" citizens vary from agency-to-agency. Students must research a particular agency's requirements before reaching any definitive conclusion regarding their employment eligibility. In fact, in some instances, ultimate eligibility is not determined until the performance of a U.S. government background investigation.
Please note that it is extremely difficult for a non-U.S. citizen to secure employment with any U.S. government agency, especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Although it is tempting to argue that unpaid positions are exempt from this general rule regarding non-citizen employment, it is an agency-by-agency determination. Unfortunately, there is no single office or person that will give a definitive answer for all agencies before completion of a candidate's background check.
