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Hey there,
I'm still in undergrad, one year out from applying to law school, and have a unique opportunity to work in pretty much any division of my state Attorney General's Office. I interned there for a semester, and took on some big projects and was able to move up the ladder. From a law standpoint, are jobs in the AG office competitive? I know that clerkships, and US Attorney's Office is competitive, but are state AG positions competitive and highly sought after? If so, is there a particular place (divisions, type of law, etc. Ex. Public coruption, fraud, etc.) you would recommend I intern at so as to create the right connections for when I'm in law school?

Thanks for your help!

It completely depends on the state. Some states want 5-10 years of experience and a stellar resume. Some states will hire fresh law grads. You might want to talk to the HR people at the state you're looking at.

I interned at a state AG for my 1L summer, and I don't think that they are extremely competitive. However, many states are really hurting budget-wise and are under hiring freezes, so that could make it harder to get a position.

I worked at an ag's office for a few years as a paralegal. Attorney positions at the office weren't as competitive as US Attorney's Office of course, but they were still pretty competitive. Most attorneys I worked with were from T-14s and had their little plaques with "cum laude" in their offices so I imagine they did well there. They did regularly hire people straight out of law school. I believe what division you're shooting for also matters. I worked in financial regulation and it seemed that those jobs were a bit more competitive than other divisions.

Like the poster above mentioned, the state hiring freezes that have been going on probably throw a whole new level of competitiveness to becoming an AAG these days.

Anonymous User wrote:Hey there,
I'm still in undergrad, one year out from applying to law school, and have a unique opportunity to work in pretty much any division of my state Attorney General's Office. I interned there for a semester, and took on some big projects and was able to move up the ladder. From a law standpoint, are jobs in the AG office competitive? I know that clerkships, and US Attorney's Office is competitive, but are state AG positions competitive and highly sought after? If so, is there a particular place (divisions, type of law, etc. Ex. Public coruption, fraud, etc.) you would recommend I intern at so as to create the right connections for when I'm in law school?

Thanks for your help!

How high exactly can one rise in an AG office without a JD?

micwrecka45 wrote:I worked at an ag's office for a few years as a paralegal. Attorney positions at the office weren't as competitive as US Attorney's Office of course, but they were still pretty competitive. Most attorneys I worked with were from T-14s and had their little plaques with "cum laude" in their offices so I imagine they did well there. They did regularly hire people straight out of law school. I believe what division you're shooting for also matters. I worked in financial regulation and it seemed that those jobs were a bit more competitive than other divisions.

Like the poster above mentioned, the state hiring freezes that have been going on probably throw a whole new level of competitiveness to becoming an AAG these days.

Ah, in my office it seemed like most of the attorneys were from lower-tiered schools.

I do think that AGs largely hire attorneys with a few years of experience. I remember meeting a fellow from Criminal Appeals who had joined after I think 3ish years at Fried Frank, and the director of the Gang Unit had been an insurance litigator before joining the AG. On the other hand, AGs are using the budget situation and labor crunch as a way to bring in some free labor- I have a buddy who is a 3L at a TTT who is joining my state's AG in an unpaid position after graduation. If you want to get hired right out of law school, you probably will have to work for free for a while. FWIW, I was able to do some projects for a policymaker (she went to law school but is now in a policy, not strictly legal, role) in the agency we were embedded with and she tried to recruit me to continue working there in a paid position after my internship ended (didn't take up the offer). So from my experience the way to get one of these jobs is to get your foot in the door through an unpaid internship.

New Jersey pays assistant AG's a salary of 0 (zero) dollars:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/200 ... teers.html


Pretty funny that only 60 of over 100 people begging to work for FREE got placed LOL. Amazing that anyone is even considering law school anymore- legal aid and other low-end shitlaw jobs are vanishing left and right:


http://articles.philly.com/2010-08-14/n ... ewer-cases

Do political connection play a role in landing these jobs? A friend of mine worked at an AG's office in a flyover state and said pretty much everyone had some sort of connection.