WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT - Federal / State / Local
Government Deadlines
An attorney working for the government can obtain experience in nearly any type of legal practice imaginable, including environmental law, consumer protection, labor law, international relations, energy law, civil rights, contracts, torts, business and tax law. The type of law and legal skills involved will vary according to the agency or department.
Responsibilities can range from prosecuting in court, drafting regulations or legislation, enforcing existing laws and regulations at administrative hearings, serving as legal counsel to officials or departments and policy analysis. Attorneys become skilled in writing and interpreting regulations, drafting opinions and briefs, reviewing legislation and advising on matters of public policy.
Government agencies give their new attorneys as much responsibility as they can manage. The work often involves issues of statewide or national significance. It can be a very rewarding and exciting experience.
The Agency Attorney
The responsibilities for an agency attorney will vary with the type of agency. Agency attorneys often represent the agency within the agency's own administrative hearing processes. They may investigate complaints made to the agency or investigate violations of the laws within the agency's jurisdiction. They often draft agreements, legislation and regulations. Examples: the US. Environmental Protection Agency, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
The Department of Justice
The Justice Department handles most civil litigation for the federal government and federal agencies. Their client is the Federal Government. They provide legal advice to the President, investigate federal crimes, enforce federal laws and operate federal prisons.
The United States Attorney
An Assistant US Attorney prosecutes defendants in federal criminal cases and acts as the field offices for the Justice Department. The office handles specialized areas of criminal law such as drug enforcement and organized crime as well as civil litigation. Previous litigation experience is a prerequisite to employment.
The Attorney General
The Attorney General represents the state and state agencies in civil litigation in both state and federal courts, serves as the state's chief enforcement officer, investigates and prosecutes cases of statewide significance. Much of the work is designed to further state or local government policies. Most AG's Offices are organized by area of specialization such as environmental, consumer, criminal or civil.
The District Attorney
An Assistant District Attorney prosecutes all local criminal cases. Most Assistant District Attorneys appear daily in court and assume large caseloads.
City/Municipality Attorney
The City Attorney provides legal counsel to and represents the city or town in litigation, drafts and negotiates regulations, public contracts and real estate and labor agreements.
The Courts
Many judges and courts at both the state and federal level have opportunities for law students to work for them (mostly volunteer) for the summer. Judicial Clerkships following graduation exist in all federal courts and many state courts. Working for the courts is an invaluable opportunity to gain insight into the judicial process, research and writing skills and the opportunity to watch lawyers in action. (For information about Judicial Clerkships after graduation, see the Career Services handout Judicial Clerkships.)
Capitol Hill and State Legislatures
As a Legislative Assistant on an individual member's personal staff or as a staff attorney for a Committee, attorneys may draft and research legislation, review and comment on proposed legislation, investigate legal matters pertinent to the legislator, constituent or committee and advise individual members.
THE JOB SEARCH
There is no centralized organization which coordinates the hiring of personnel for the state or the federal government. Government hiring differs from office to office and often depends on budget considerations. Some of the larger federal agencies have regular recruiting and hiring programs every year and have application deadlines early in the fall for both summer and permanent positions. Most state agencies hire for permanent positions in spring, early summer, or when a vacancy occurs. Both state and federal agencies hire for summer internships from late fall to spring.
Several federal agencies are part of the Federal Honors Program, which hires recent law graduates for an intensive training program and post-program employment. For example, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Treasury Department each has their own Honors Program. The deadlines for such programs are early in the fall. For example, summer and entry-level positions with the Department of Justice are obtained through the Attorney General's Honors Program. Acceptance into any of the Honors Programs is extremely competitive and provides a unique opportunity to wor k for the government.
Many government employers participate in BC Law recruitment programs. Some government agencies participate in the early fall on and off campus interview programs, with interviews in September or early October. Some examples of employers who interviewed on campus include the Federal Reserve Board, the US Department of Transportation Office, Queens County District Attorney's Office, and the US Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several agencies participate in the two public interest/government recruitment programs that are held each year in Boston for BC Law students. One is held at Boston College Law School in October. The other will be held at Suffolk Law School in early January. Many employers who participate in these two recruitment programs prefer to have students contact them directly and do not come on campus to interview. This list of employers will be posted in the Job Postings at Symplicity.
A national public interest job fair sponsored by the Equal Justice Works (EJW) is also held each year in DC. It is usually held in October. Hundreds of employers participate, primarily for summer internships. The Career Services Office will have a list of participating employers and students must contact the employers directly to schedule an interview.
Throughout the year, many government employers will contact the Career Services regarding both summer internships and permanent placements. Such job posting are all listed in the Job Postings at Symplicity.
For the many government offices who do not actively recruit for either summer internships or permanent placements, students must take an active role in this job search and often must initiate the contact with the employer. The student initiates the contact with a cover letter and resume. This is particularly true for several of the District Attorney Office's in Massachusetts.
One of the most effective tools for developing a list of potential government employers, as well as identifying job opportunities, is the networking and informational interviewing process.
Networking is the process of contacting the people you know to help gather information and develop employment contacts. Your network can consist of present and former employers and colleagues, alumni of the Law School, and professors. Rather than advertising openings, employers often prefer to hire someone who has worked for them during the summer or as part of a clinical program, or who was referred by a colleague.
Before applying to a government agency, you should do your research. Know the mission statement as well as what the agency does. Exploring web sites and informational interviewing with BC Law alumni who are currently working at each agency can do this research. The names of alumni willing to talk with students can be obtained from the Alumni Career Network.
One of the best resources for information is the individual web sites for each government agency. The web sites are excellent resources for researching what are the current legal issues being addressed by each agency. See the Resource Section of this handout for a list of some excellent web sites. The Career Services web site has links to many of the sites as well.
FINANCING A GOVERNMENT CAREER
Boston College Law School offers a variety of funding programs for law students who wish to work in the public interest/public sector during the summer as many of these positions are unpaid. There are also scholarship and loan assistance programs to make it more financially possible to enter public sector law. See the BC Law Public Interest Funding Notebook for a comprehensive list of summer funding, scholarship and loan assistance programs.
Salaries for government lawyers are quite varied with the federal government traditionally paying the higher end of the scale. A starting salary for a District Attorney may range from the mid $20,000 to high 30's depending on geographical location. The beginning salary for an Honor Program attorney is usually GS-11 ($49,845 in 2000) with significant increases related to experience.
The Summer Funding Brochure, available in the Career Services Offices, provides details about eligibility, timing and application procedures for the following programs: Federal Work-Study, Publication Trust Fund Stipends, Holocaust/Human Rights Program Stipends and the Public Interest Law Foundation Stipends.
The Drinan Family Fund in Support of Public Interest Law is a loan assistance award in the amount of $10,000 to a third year student pursuing a career in public interest law with a particular interest in child advocacy, landlord/tenant issues, criminal d efense or criminal prosecution. The award is renewable for one additional year.
The Champy Fellowship Fund provides an $11,000 scholarship for the third year of law school to a student who has demonstrated a commitment to pursuing a public interest career. Students apply in their second year.
The Edward T. Bigham III scholarship provides a third year student who intends to pursue a career as a district attorney with a $4,000 scholarship.
The David H. and Mary Murphy Posner, Robert S. Pitcoff and Keefe family scholarships provides $4,000 scholarships each to third-year students pursuing a career in the public sector.
The Willier Program provides financial assistance for students and graduates who intend to practice public interest/public sector law. The program includes Honorary Graduation Stipends which help defray summer living and bar examination expense and Loan Repayment Assistance to help graduates with educational debt. Graduates employed by state or federal governments are eligible for loan repayment assistance. The deadline has been in December.
For further information or assistance in any of these matters, make an appointment with Freda Fishman, Associate Director for Public Interest Programs.
Best Resource Materials for Government (some can be found in the Career Resources Library)
· The Department of Justice Legal Activities Book describes the legal responsibilities of the Department and the work of each of its organizations. Also available at www.usdoj.gov/careers/oarm.
· The U.S Government Manual, a comprehensive synopsis of all federal agencies, on-line on Lexis and Westlaw.
· Boston College Law School Directory of Massachusetts Government Agencies and Public Interest Organizations in book form and as a database.
· Alumni Career Network, database of Alumni from BC Law who are working in the public sector and who have volunteered to speak with students about their careers.
· Federal Careers for Attorneys, identifies agencies that hire attorneys also available on-line on Lexis.
· The National and Federal Legal Employment Report: A list of attorney and law-related positions with the US Government and other public and private employers in DC, the US and abroad.
· Public Service and International Law: A Guide to Professional Opportunities in the United States and Abroad, Yale Law School(1998)
· National Directory of Prosecuting Attorneys. Also on Lexis and Westlaw.
· Harvard Law School's Public Interest Job Search Guide.
· PSLawNet located at www.PSLawNet.org. PSLawNet is a database of public service opportunities nationwide and international. These placements include term time opportunities, summer internships and permanent.
· See www.usdoj.gov for access to the many Department of Justice organizations that maintain their own web page. See also www.usdoj.gov/oarm for summer and permanent job listings.
· The Federal Jobs Digest includes current federal job listings, which are searchable by type of position. Their web site is www.jobsfed.com.
· Another source for links to almost every federal government home page is www.fedworld.gov/jobs/jobsearch.
· Another site with actual job listings is www.opm.gov.
· A web site for Massachusetts state agencies is www.state.ma.us. This site provides links to every state agency as well as a link to employment opportunities www.state.ma.us/job.htm. If you wish to research other states about existing agencies and job opportunities, a common pattern for web sites is www. state. (the state's abbreviation i.e.ny).us.
