Top Law Schools

Hi, all. I was offered a 1L summer internship position with a USAO, & I accepted. I have a DUI arrest from 3 years ago on my record. I wasn't charged w/ the DUI, only w/ reckless driving. I called the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management for advice on how to proceed with my application since I had this charge on my record. They recommend that I disclose in the e-QIP process but not flag it for the specific USAO's HR department, & they said it shouldn't be an issue. I submitted my e-QIP as advised, but today I received an email from the office's HR department, saying I should have provided a letter of explanation addressed to the US Attorney himself, explaining the cause of the charge and what I did to correct the issue, & that I should submit that as soon as possible.

My question: What should the tone of this letter be? I currently have it written as accepting responsibility but explaining that I underwent alcohol counseling at my university & haven't had an issue since. Is this sufficient? Will this likely be a problem -- are they likely to retract the offer over this? Should I be concerned? Thanks for any advice moving forward.

I'd also work in a mention that you proactively consulted OARM about how to disclose. Not in a "I can't believe OARM gave me bad advice" manner, of course, but more just to indicate that you have been upfront and weren't trying to sweep this under the carpet or anything.

I was in a similar position with the DOJ. Not criminal but had an account sent to collections that I wasn't aware of until after I applied. I wrote a very formal letter mentioning that I recognize the importance of federal employees satisfying their financial obligations and outlining the steps I took to mitigate the situation. Like Q said, I would mention that you were very upfront.

I can't see this being disqualifying because they're taking steps to have you mitigate the issue, but it's possible that they could rescind the offer and it's probably up to the discretion of the US Attorney. There's nothing you can do at this point beyond writing a thoughtful and apologetic letter.