Can you aim for DoJ without locking yourself out? Forum

[SnakySalmon]

I really want DoJ. It's my dream job out of LS. From my understanding though, it's super hard to get, and even trying means interning there.

If I was to spend all my time trying to maximize the chance I get DoJ and still struck out, would I have any shot at other Fed or State jobs, or would I be out of luck because I didn't intern with a DA/PD office or whatever instead?

[bk1]

You can intern at both DoJ and elsewhere during fall/spring semesters.

[A. Nony Mouse]

What kind of work do you want to do within DoJ? There are a ton of different agencies under that umbrella - there's civil work, criminal work, civil rights work, tax work, antitrust work, immigration work, environmental work, national security, etc., as well as general counsel for all the different agencies... So to best have a shot at DoJ, you'd need to be focused on something more specific anyway. And to the extent you're gunning for tax/immigration/antitrust/whatever, ideally if DoJ doesn't pan out, you'll have developed qualifications that transfer to other positions.

[Sgt Brody.]

What kind of work do you want to do within DoJ? There are a ton of different agencies under that umbrella - there's civil work, criminal work, civil rights work, tax work, antitrust work, immigration work, environmental work, national security, etc., as well as general counsel for all the different agencies... So to best have a shot at DoJ, you'd need to be focused on something else anyway. And to the extent you're gunning for tax/immigration/antitrust/whatever, ideally if DoJ doesn't pan out, you'll have developed qualifications that transfer to other positions.

Nony, do u happen to know anything in particular about about Immigration work within the DOJ? And is the only way you would get to do immigration work in the DOJ is getting hired right out of law school, or can u do firm work for a couple of years and then apply to the DOJ? Also to do immigration work in the doj, do u have to be in dc, or can u be any other place? Thanks a lot Nony!

[09042014]

Immigration work has got to be the most boring shit ever.

[patogordo]

DEPORT EVERYONE

[SnakySalmon]

What kind of work do you want to do within DoJ? There are a ton of different agencies under that umbrella - there's civil work, criminal work, civil rights work, tax work, antitrust work, immigration work, environmental work, national security, etc., as well as general counsel for all the different agencies... So to best have a shot at DoJ, you'd need to be focused on something more specific anyway. And to the extent you're gunning for tax/immigration/antitrust/whatever, ideally if DoJ doesn't pan out, you'll have developed qualifications that transfer to other positions.

Since I'm 0l, I can't say for sure what branch I'd want to work in. Right now crim appeals to me, but that may very well change in LS. All I'm 100% sure about is that I want to work for the government, preferably Fed, but State would be fine. Non-government PI would be fine, but isn't what I really want. I would go into biglaw planning on exiting to AUSA or something as soon as I could.

I'm basically trying to decide if those three possibilities are likely enough to make LS a reasonable idea, and how mutually exclusive they are will have a lot of impact.

[eljefe1]

DEPORT EVERYONE

LOL

[A. Nony Mouse]

What kind of work do you want to do within DoJ? There are a ton of different agencies under that umbrella - there's civil work, criminal work, civil rights work, tax work, antitrust work, immigration work, environmental work, national security, etc., as well as general counsel for all the different agencies... So to best have a shot at DoJ, you'd need to be focused on something else anyway. And to the extent you're gunning for tax/immigration/antitrust/whatever, ideally if DoJ doesn't pan out, you'll have developed qualifications that transfer to other positions.

Nony, do u happen to know anything in particular about about Immigration work within the DOJ? And is the only way you would get to do immigration work in the DOJ is getting hired right out of law school, or can u do firm work for a couple of years and then apply to the DOJ? Also to do immigration work in the doj, do u have to be in dc, or can u be any other place? Thanks a lot Nony!

I don't know a lot about it - the agency is the Executive Office of Immigration Review, and there's more info here: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/orginfo.htm. (I think most lawyers doing trial-level immigration work are in ICE in the Dept of Homeland Security, but I could be wrong.) Lateraling into federal work is pretty common, generally speaking, though I don't know exactly what background people going into immigration law would have/need. EOIR hires directly out of law school through DOJ's Honors Program, although most of those positions are for 2-year terminal clerkships with an immigration law judge - people can go into other federal immigration positions from the clerkships, though not necessarily in DOJ (as opposed to DHS), and it's not guaranteed. There are something like 7 non clerkship positions through the Honors program each year? The immigration clerkships are all over the country, but I think the other EOIR positions are all in DC.

[eljefe1]

LOOLOLOL

--LinkRemoved--

[Sgt Brody.]

What kind of work do you want to do within DoJ? There are a ton of different agencies under that umbrella - there's civil work, criminal work, civil rights work, tax work, antitrust work, immigration work, environmental work, national security, etc., as well as general counsel for all the different agencies... So to best have a shot at DoJ, you'd need to be focused on something else anyway. And to the extent you're gunning for tax/immigration/antitrust/whatever, ideally if DoJ doesn't pan out, you'll have developed qualifications that transfer to other positions.

Nony, do u happen to know anything in particular about about Immigration work within the DOJ? And is the only way you would get to do immigration work in the DOJ is getting hired right out of law school, or can u do firm work for a couple of years and then apply to the DOJ? Also to do immigration work in the doj, do u have to be in dc, or can u be any other place? Thanks a lot Nony!

I don't know a lot about it - the agency is the Executive Office of Immigration Review, and there's more info here: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/orginfo.htm. (I think most lawyers doing trial-level immigration work are in ICE in the Dept of Homeland Security, but I could be wrong.) Lateraling into federal work is pretty common, generally speaking, though I don't know exactly what background people going into immigration law would have/need. EOIR hires directly out of law school through DOJ's Honors Program, although most of those positions are for 2-year terminal clerkships with an immigration law judge - people can go into other federal immigration positions from the clerkships, though not necessarily in DOJ (as opposed to DHS), and it's not guaranteed. There are something like 7 non clerkship positions through the Honors program each year? The immigration clerkships are all over the country, but I think the other EOIR positions are all in DC.

Thanks a lot Nony! your the best!

[HRomanus]

Do DOJ internships, summer positions, and jobs use the same hiring policies as the rest of the federal government? USAjobs, Pathways, veteran's preference, etc? I worked for a federal agency in Pathways and federal hiring is a complete bitch, especially facing applicants with vets preference.

[jarofsoup]

DOJ honors program is probably one of the most competitive hiring processes there is. You need to focus on clerking if you want DOJ. Unless you want immigration.

[worldtraveler]

DOJ honors program is probably one of the most competitive hiring processes there is. You need to focus on clerking if you want DOJ. Unless you want immigration.

Even with DOJ EOIR you can't count on it. I know plenty of grads from top schools with good grades and immigration experience and they got rejected. It's even harder to find something if you are limited in location or don't want DC.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Do DOJ internships, summer positions, and jobs use the same hiring policies as the rest of the federal government? USAjobs, Pathways, veteran's preference, etc? I worked for a federal agency in Pathways and federal hiring is a complete bitch, especially facing applicants with vets preference.

I think that attorney positions are basically always excepted service, which doesn't have to follow all the rest of the regulations; for instance, the vets' preference doesn't apply (although I think military experience is still often highly valued, at least based on who's in my office). (http://www.fedsmith.com/2010/11/28/fede ... -excepted/)