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Employment Opportunities

Attorney-Adviser Positions

The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) employs highly qualified attorneys to serve as Attorney-Advisers. OLC’s principal function is to assist the Attorney General in fulfilling the role of legal adviser to the President and Executive Branch agencies. More specifically, OLC’s responsibilities include advising the Attorney General, the White House Counsel, all executive departments and agencies, and the various components of the Department of Justice on constitutional and statutory matters; resolving legal disputes within the Executive Branch through the issuance of binding legal opinions; reviewing for constitutionality legislation proposed by the President or by Congress; and reviewing for legality and form all executive orders, proclamations and memoranda proposed to be issued by the President and all Attorney General orders and regulations.

Because OLC’s 24 attorneys handle some of the most difficult and important legal issues confronting the Executive Branch, the Office is highly selective in its hiring. Applicants must have a J.D. degree, be an active member of at least one bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least one year of post-J.D. legal experience. The ideal candidate will have exceptional academic credentials, judicial clerkship or comparable experience, strong background in constitutional law, and outstanding legal research and writing skills. Turnover in Attorney-Adviser positions is sporadic and often difficult to predict, and there is therefore no established hiring cycle. For a listing of OLC’s current experienced attorney vacancies, please visit the Department's Legal Careers website.

Summer Law Internships (Paid)

OLC participates in the Attorney General’s Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP), which is a paid internship. Each summer, the Office considers law students, usually third-year students who will be going on to federal judicial clerkships. This internship lasts for 2-3 months and has a GS-11 salary. Applications for this program should be made via the Department’s online application process. This program typically accepts applications between late July and early September of the preceding year (i.e., when candidates are about to begin their third year of law school). Candidates may apply for the Department’s Honors Program and transfer to the SLIP upon accepting a federal judicial clerkship.

Legal Internships (Unpaid)

OLC typically hires up to 2 volunteer legal interns during the academic year or the summer. These positions are usually reserved for 2L or 3L law students who are able to work on a part-time basis. These internships are unpaid and typically last the length of a semester (2-3 months). Legal interns provide support to OLC attorneys by performing various research and writing tasks. 

Interested law students should submit the following application materials to OLCRecruit@usdoj.gov:   

  1. Cover letter to include a statement expressing why you would like to intern at OLC, including dates of availability;
  2. Resume;
  3. A copy of your transcript; and
  4. A recommendation from an employer or professor.

Internship applications should be submitted at least one semester in advance to allow time for the review and pre-employment process, which requires drug testing, fingerprinting, and a background check.

Paralegals

OLC employs highly qualified paralegals that participate in the substantive development and review of OLC opinions and cases. OLC paralegals note and correct case file deficiencies to include missing documents, inconsistent materials, and leads not examined before sending the case on to the appropriate attorney. Paralegals also review and analyze available legal precedent that is relevant to cases under consideration. As noted above in the discussion about Attorney-Advisers, since OLC’s attorneys handle some of the most difficult and important legal issues confronting the Executive Branch, the Office is highly selective in its hiring of paralegals. Applicants must have extensive experience, to include reviewing, processing, and preparing complex legal documents such as legal opinions, regulations, and executive orders and in responding to requests such as congressional inquiries. OLC occasionally has internal detail opportunities posted to the Department’s internal detail page, and openings on USAJOBs. 

U.S. Department of Justice Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The Office of Legal Counsel is an equal opportunity employer.

Updated July 27, 2026