Legal Careers
Unpaid Law Student Volunteer, Academic Year- T-FTCA
Washington, DC 20002 - United States
The Attorneys of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Section defend the United States in a wide range of complex, and often controversial, suits filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act. 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). Suits often arise from medical care or treatment, regulatory activities, law enforcement, and maintenance of federal lands. Attorneys in this section have handled the defense in litigation related to Hurricane Katrina, which sought billions of dollars in damages for losses caused by flooding, sensitive law enforcement cases involving informants, and suits brought by individuals who were detained on immigration charges following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
FTCA Section attorneys also serve as the principal point of contact for other Department of Justice components, such as the United States Attorneys Offices, and other federal agencies. Our attorneys assist in litigation development and settlement strategy, and have particular expertise in the evaluation and settlement of catastrophic injury cases. The FTCA Section’s Director has authority to act on settlements by federal agencies of up to $1,000,000.
In addition, FTCA Section attorneys make appeal recommendations on all adverse judgments entered in FTCA cases. They also provide comments on FTCA-related Congressional legislation that may have an impact on taxpayer liability. Further, the FTCA Section is responsible for administrative adjustment of tort claims filed as a result of DOJ employee conduct nationwide.
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 FTCA Section's Law Clerk Program is highly-regarded. Its interns (or "law clerks") are given substantive "lawyer's work" which is utilized in the office's practice. On average, an academic year will have completed five to six substantive assignments which often include issues involving federal rules of procedure, evidence, and a variety of state law issues.
Clerkship Location: 175 N Street, N.E. (Adjacent to NoMa/Gallaudet Metro Stop in Northeast Washington, D.C.); virtual positions are also available.
Weeks/Hours: Law clerks work part-time (16 hours per week) for twelve to fourteen weeks.
Students who will have completed at least one year of law school by the start of the clerkship. Candidates should be excellent writers in excellent academic standing. The office, however, considers the entire background and experience of applicants in assessing an application. Candidates must also be U.S. citizens or nationals, and must have resided at least three of the past five years in the United States.
Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample (no more than ten pages and mostly legal analysis), and law school transcript, where available. Unofficial transcripts are accepted. Applications should be sent by email to Gail K. Johnson at civftca.internjobs@usdoj.gov
Please indicate that you are applying for a fall or spring position in the subject line of your email.
Application Deadline: Applications for the fall and spring are accepted on a rolling basis. Positions are typically filled by early June for fall positions, and early October for spring. Early applications are encouraged.
Academic or work-study credit possible. Transit subsidies are available, when in person. Snacks provided .
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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.