Legal Careers
Law Student Volunteer Intern - Summer & Fall 24
Raleigh, NC 27601 - United States
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina investigates and prosecutes federal crimes and represents the interests of the United States in both criminal and civil cases and matters in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, as well as in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The office has three litigating divisions—Criminal, Appellate, and Civil. The Criminal Division is concerned with the prosecution of all federal criminal violations, which include controlled substance violations, violent crime, organized crime, fraud, tax violations, white-collar crime, civil rights violations, crimes against children, and national security offenses. The Appellate Division handles the office’s criminal appeals and provides guidance to criminal AUSAs. The Civil Division is devoted to cases involving bankruptcy, collections, affirmative civil enforcement (including forfeitures), federal tort claim defenses, EEOC matters, and prisoner petitions. All of our employees, except for some assigned to our Wilmington Branch, work from our headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
The student internship program is overseen by experienced Assistant U.S. Attorneys who provide daily supervision and coordinate work assignments. The following are a few of the activities students normally perform while working in this office:
- providing research on legal issues and stating their findings orally and/or through written memoranda;
- assisting and/or preparing pre-trial and post-trial motions and responses;
- assisting in the writing of trial and appellate briefs;
- helping to moot attorneys before appellate oral arguments;
- observing various stages of federal proceedings (witness interviews, depositions, trials, sentencings, appellate arguments, etc.);
- assisting in the preparation of affidavits, exhibits, and notebooks for trial; and
- for students who qualify under the student-practice rules, participating in court hearings.
The office’s workload demands and students’ preferences are considered when determining which division each student will be primarily assigned to assist. We encourage students to communicate if they would like to assist on projects from the other divisions, and during the summer we may be able to rotate interested students through multiple divisions to provide a broad exposure to the office’s work.
This notice is recruiting one or more interns for summer and fall. Summer interns work full-time for approximately ten weeks. School-year interns usually work a minimum of ten hour per week, and the office is flexible as to how these hours are generated.
Must be at least a 2L in good academic standing during your internship with the office. For students interning as 3Ls, preference will be given to those who have completed a course in evidence.
The Appellate Division will also consider outstanding second-semester 1Ls for placement during the summer after their 1L year (as rising 2Ls).
We request the following information be sent as one combined PDF attachment to USANCE.law.interns@usdoj.gov no later than February 12, 2024:
- Cover letter to the attention of Lori Warlick and Kristine Fritz that includes your contact information, the litigating division(s) you are interested in, and the dates you are available for the internship. We encourage you to addresses your interest in the USAO’s work and your ties to (or interest in) the Eastern District of North Carolina.
- Your resume.
- Your law school transcript. If your grades are unavailable when you submit your application, you must provide them as soon as they become available.
- A legal writing sample (not to exceed 15 pages).
Those selected for interviews will be notified. We typically participate in on-campus interviewing (OCI) at law schools in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area (Campbell University, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and University of North Carolina). For students farther afield and when on-campus interviews are not feasible, arrangements will be made for interviews online via WebEx or in person at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This is a voluntary position without compensation or benefits. Academic credit available if arranged by the student through the law school.
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Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
USAO Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.