Employment

Current Openings for the District of Idaho

Assistant United States Attorney (Civil) - Boise, Idaho

Attorneys | Support Staff | Students | Volunteer Law Students

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho employs approximately 60 employees. Positions include Assistant United States Attorneys, paralegal specialists, victim-witness specialists, legal assistants, administrative employees and student employees. Employment for all positions is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a thorough background investigation conducted by the Department of Justice. The investigation process includes a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use, a fingerprint check a credit check and a thorough review of the applicant's background.

All Applications can be sent to:

United States Attorney's Office
District of Idaho
1290 W. Myrtle St.
Suite 500
Boise, ID 83702

Recruitment of Persons with Targeted Disabilities

The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Idaho, welcomes applications from qualified individuals with targeted disabilities. In accordance with 5 C.F.R. §213.3102(u), agencies can fill vacancies non-competitively by appointing qualified applicants with targeted disabilities. See, Jobs Filled Non-Competitively.

As with all other applicants for vacancies, those who seek eligibility pursuant to Section (u) must be qualified for the position. A Section (u) applicant must have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the required duties of the position. Applicants who seek eligibility pursuant to Section (u) must provide proof, in writing, that they have a targeted disability as well as documentation certifying job readiness.

Targeted disabilities include deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and distortion of the limb and/or spine.

Employment Opportunities

DOJ Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

DOJ Attorney Vacancies

Government Wide Vacancies

Assistant United States Attorney Positions

Applications for attorney positions are evaluated by a Hiring Committee as vacancies occur. Applicants for attorney positions must possess a J.D. degree and be an active member of at least one bar (any jurisdiction). Salary is commensurate with experience. Applications are sent to:

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Idaho
1290 W. Myrtle St.
Suite 500
Boise, ID 83702

Support Staff Positions

Applications for support positions are accepted when vacancies occur. All vacancy announcements government-wide are listed on www.usajobs.gov. Requirements and experience vary depending on the support vacancy and those requirements will be specified in the vacancy announcement.

Student Positions

This program offers temporary employment opportunities to students who are enrolled at least half-time in an accredited college or university, graduate professional or technical school. During the school year, students may work up to 20 hours per week; during breaks, students may work up to 40 hours per week depending on budgetary constraints. Announcements for these vacancies are posted with the local colleges, universities or technical schools.

Law Student Positions

  1. Summary

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho offers an outstanding Law Student Volunteer internship program, one noted for its intellectual rigor and exceptional opportunities for practical skill development. Our program consistently attracts exceptional students from top law schools throughout the country. While law students are given challenging research and writing assignments, they are also included in meetings, hearings and many other non-research case litigation. Moreover, second year law students may obtain a limited license which enables them to make significant in-court litigation appearances and participate in depositions.

The Assistant United States Attorneys who guide the law students work are highly skilled litigators, averaging more than ten years of experience in federal practice. They are committed to developing genuine mentoring relationships with the students they supervise. To ensure quality supervision, we accept only a limited number of law students volunteers

  2. Mission Statement

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho, through its summer Law Student Volunteer internship program, strives to provide intellectual rigor and exceptional opportunities for practical skill development for law students through its highly skilled litigators by providing mentoring and supervision.

  3. About the Law Student Volunteer Program

The United States Attorney for the District of Idaho invites applications from second year law students for volunteer positions. Individuals with strong academic records and an interest in public service law are encouraged to apply. Exceptionally strong first year law students may also be considered.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office’s mission is to litigate cases on behalf of its client, the United States of America.  The United States Attorney’s Office staff use the following principles to guide their mission: (1) do justice; (2) be good citizens of the community and the bar; (3) effectively represent the federal government in the state of Idaho; and (4) be part of an effective, efficient government agency. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho has about 70 employees, including 30 lawyers who are called Assistants U.S. Attorney (AUSAs). The U.S. Attorney's main office is located in Boise, with branch offices in Pocatello and Coeur d'Alene.

The following areas of practice are:

Law Student Volunteers are directly supervised by AUSAs, who assign, guide and critique specific, case-related projects, including writing appellate briefs, drafting pleadings and working with federal agencies on cases. Moreover, law students who have completed their second year of law school may apply for a limited license to practice in federal court and usually have the opportunity to appear before federal magistrate, bankruptcy and district court judges. Law students will be expected to work 40 hours a week during the summer, and 15-40 hours a week during the spring and fall.  The District of Idaho consists of a Main Office in Boise, and two branch offices: Coeur d'Alene and Pocatello. Starting and ending dates are flexible; however, externs are expected to make a commitment of 10 to 14 weeks.

These are unpaid internships; however, we will work closely with participating law schools to ensure that law students earn appropriate academic credit, where available. Moreover, some law schools offer public interest/public sector stipends, and we will facilitate the stipend process for law schools with such programs.

Students selected for a volunteer internships will be required to pass a rigorous background investigation conducted by the Department of Justice. The background investigation takes approximately six weeks. Applicants must have a copy of their U.S. Birth Certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, or U.S. Passport. 

Law Student Volunteer Expectations:

What you can expect from the U.S. Attorney's Office:

• The U.S. Attorney's Office carefully selects and closely supervises law students. A detailed orientation is conducted on the law student’s first week discussing expectations, policies, ethics, accountability and dependability.
• The United States Attorney's Office assists 2L law students in getting a limited license to practice, supervising the law student’s in-court work and accounting to the Bar for the law student’s performance.
• On an irregular basis, the supervisor will meet with the extern in an informal setting to discuss his/her progress.
• The supervisor will fill out the appraisal of the extern as required by the law school.

What the U.S. Attorney's Office will expect from you:

• Law students will be expected to work from between 10 to 14 weeks, for 40 hours a week (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
• Law students will be expected to dress in business attire.
• Law students will be expected to seek out opportunities to work on a multitude of projects with different AUSAs.
• Law students will be expected to work with their supervising AUSAs to "tailor" their experience specifically to the law student’s goals.

To Apply for an Law Student Volunteer Position: Send a cover letter, résumé, law school transcript, and writing sample (10 pages max) to Joann Amieva, at: joann.amieva@usdoj.gov.

Please specify your preference for working in the Boise, Pocatello and/or Coeur d'Alene offices. 

The Application deadline for Summer 2026 is February 15, 2026. However, the office will consider applications on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.

The Application deadline for Winter 2026 is October 10, 2025.  However, the office will consider applications on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.

  5. Other Information about the office and Law Student work

Appellate Division: Law students generally get the opportunity to prepare at least one appeal brief. These usually involve criminal convictions appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, or deportation orders in immigration appeals filed the Ninth Circuit.

Civil Division: Law students are assigned to work on complex civil cases with highly talented and specialized AUSAs in areas such as: defense of personal injury and medical malpractice tort actions; defense of Title VII employment discrimination cases; defensive and affirmative environmental cases; Administrative Procedures Act litigation dealing with program interests of the various client agencies of the government; and affirmative enforcement and asset forfeiture cases which seek to collect monies owed to the government or take away profits from criminal enterprises.

Criminal Division: Law students work with highly regarded federal prosecutors on matters such as: complex drug cases; organized crime investigations; fraud and white collar crimes; violent crimes committed on Indian Reservations; gangs and guns cases; child victim and internet pornography cases; immigration crimes; and regulatory offenses committed on public lands of the United States.

  6. Testimonials from Former Externs