Legal Careers
Law Student Volunteer, Summer 2026
Charlottesville, VA 22902 - United States
The United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia, covers 52 of the state's counties and employs approximately 33 Assistant United States Attorneys over three staffed offices. The main office is located in Roanoke, Virginia, with branch offices in Abingdon and Charlottesville. The United States Attorney's Office prosecutes federal criminal offenses and represents the U.S. government's interest in civil cases both affirmatively and defensively. The Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes federal criminal cases arising from a wide array of criminal activity. Our Office typically prosecutes large illegal drug distribution conspiracies, firearms offenses, violent crimes, immigration crimes, child pornography offenses, computer crimes, human trafficking, civil rights violations, health care fraud, tax fraud, mail and wire fraud and environmental crimes.
The Civil Division handles civil cases including discrimination cases (race, sex, age, disability, and religion), representation of federal agencies in bankruptcy cases, Federal Tort Claims Act cases, and medical malpractice defense cases. Civil Division attorneys also act as plaintiff’s counsel in affirmative civil cases such as Medicare and Medicaid fraud cases, quit am cases, and other cases in which the United States has been injured financially or where injunctive relief is needed.
More information on the Office can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/usao/vaw/
Internships are usually 8- 10 weeks during the summer starting late May through Early August. Intern projects include a wide array of opportunities for research, writing and case preparation and presentation. Legal writing areas include responses to defense motions in federal felony cases, responsive briefs to federal appellate courts, and responses to habeas corpus petitions. Interns may also participate in witness interviews, meetings with law enforcement personnel, trial preparation, and courtroom proceedings. Students who have satisfied the Virginia State Bar Third Year Practice Rule requirements are given the opportunity to participate in trial work and in the presentation of petty offense cases in United States Magistrate’s Court.
First-year law students and rising second-and third- year law students are encouraged to apply. Superior research and writing skills, an eye for detail, a desire to work as part of a small team of professionals, and a commitment to fairness and integrity is essential. Must be a U.S. Citizen.
Law school graduates are not eligible for internship positions. Internships are subject to a background investigation due to the sensitive nature of the work performed by this Office.
Please submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample of no greater than 10 pages, and(if available) law school transcript in a single combined PDF attachment using the file format LastnameFirstname (e.g., SmithJane.pdf). Additional materials may be requested during interviews, which will be conducted on a rolling basis. To accommodate travel schedules, students who will be near Abingdon, Virginia, during winter break periods should submit their applications early and indicate when they will be in the area.
Please electronically mail all applications to: usavaw.personnel@usdoj.gov and address your cover letter “Dear Intern Coordinators.”
For questions about the hiring process contact Tiara Price at (540)857-2250.
Volunteer (uncompensated). Academic course credit may be offered depending on the applicant's law school.
Department Policies
The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. To learn more, please visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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://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.
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.