Legal Careers
Law Student Volunteer, Academic Year, Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section
The mission of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section is to enforce federal laws relating to: (1) complex immigration and border crimes; (2) international human rights violations; and (3) certain federal crimes of violence committed outside the United States.
Where U.S. federal jurisdiction exists, HRSP seeks to prosecute human rights violators under the federal criminal statutes proscribing torture, war crimes, genocide, female genital mutilation, and recruitment or use of child soldiers. The Section also prosecutes human rights violators under other statutes as appropriate, including U.S. criminal and civil immigration and naturalization laws in order to revoke U.S. citizenship or other legal status and obtain criminal penalties as appropriate. HRSP is home to the War Crimes Accountability Team, created by the Attorney General in 2022 to centralize and strengthen the Justice Department’s ongoing work to hold accountable those who have committed war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine and provide wide-ranging technical assistance, including operational assistance and advice regarding criminal prosecutions, evidence collection, forensics, and relevant legal analysis. The team also plays an integral role in the Department’s ongoing investigations of potential war crimes over which the U.S. possesses jurisdiction.
In addition, HRSP prosecutes certain other cases of crimes of violence committed abroad, particularly crimes that fall under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA). In its MEJA enforcement work, HRSP coordinates and participates in investigations and prosecutions of individuals employed by or supporting United States military forces overseas who commit murder, sex crimes, and other federal felony offenses. Similarly, HRSP investigates and prosecutes cases involving violent crimes that fall under the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States.
HRSP investigates and prosecutes complex immigration offenses that undermine the integrity of our nation's borders, endangering national security as well as the lives of smuggled persons themselves. HRSP targets international criminal networks involved in smuggling of persons and trafficking fraudulent travel and identification documents. HRSP places particular emphasis on dismantling those international networks that terrorists and other criminals could exploit to enter the United States without detection, and those that pose serious humanitarian concerns. The office helps lead Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), an inter-agency partnership between DOJ and DHS that combines dedicated prosecutors, agents, and analysts with specialized expertise from across the country to build criminal cases against leaders, organizers, and facilitators of human smuggling and trafficking crimes. JTFA targets criminal networks operating south of the U.S. border that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants being smuggled, pose national security threats, or have links to transnational organized crime.
Law interns will conduct substantial legal research and writing assignments in the areas of international, criminal, and immigration law. Law interns will also conduct factual research, review, and organize documents, and work on policy matters.
This internship requires students to work a minimum of 15-20 hours per week (Fall/Spring) or 10 weeks (Summer) in the Washington-D.C. office of HRSP.
Rising second- and third-year law students; full-time International or Comparative Law LL.M. candidates who are not employed while pursuing their advanced degree.
Applicants must have: (1) a strong academic background; (2) excellent research and writing skills; and (3) experience or interest in criminal and international law.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer.
It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace, and the candidate(s) selected will be required to pass a drug test to screen for illegal drug use. Internship opportunities are also contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a background investigation adjudicated by the Department of Justice.
Please submit a single PDF file via e-mail that contains a cover letter (including dates available), resume, writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages), transcript (official or unofficial), and three references.
All applications must be emailed to HRSPInterns@usdoj.gov with your name and the semester and year that you are applying for (for example Watkins, Patrick-Fall 2024).
Application Deadlines:
Summer: January 15
Fall: June 1
Spring: October 15
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Minimum weeks required:
Summer: 10 weeks or more; in special circumstances, HRSP may consider a shorter commitment.
Fall/Spring: Full semester (15 to 20 hours per week; full time externships are also available)
Volunteer (without compensation) or work-study credit only.
Department Policies
The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to equal employment opportunity (EEO) and treating employees with fairness, dignity and compassion. We must ensure that no applicant for employment or employee of our Department is denied equal opportunity because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex – including pregnancy – or because of age, physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor and that all have the freedom to compete on a fair and level playing field. To learn more, please view the Department’s full Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
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.
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.
Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
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://help.usajobs.gov/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.
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).
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.
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.