Pathways Student Intern (Law Clerk)

Closing Date: 18th April, 2024

Description:

Summary:
To qualify for this Law Clerk Internship under the DOT Pathways Internship Program, you MUST be a continuing Law Student enrolled or accepted for enrollment for the current/upcoming semesters for the duration of the internship as a condition of employment, taking at least a half-time course load. You will be required to provide documentation to support eligibility. Students will be employed throughout the academic year and can work full time in the summer. This is NOT a summer only position.

Duties:
This is a developmental position within the A Government Entity, Department of Transportation (DOT). The position is designed to provide interns with challenging assignments that will broaden their perspectives on issues facing the government and prepare them for future positions throughout the government.

The Student Intern (Law Clerk) will have the opportunity to work in one of the A Government Entity Offices and will assist higher-level staff with support in the coordination, facilitation, and implementation of the operations in the office to which they are assigned. This position will provide students an opportunity to be exposed and to participate in activities, innovations, and challenges facing the transportation industry today.

The Pathways Student Intern (Law Clerk) will:

• Research and analyze law sources to prepare drafts of briefs or arguments for review, approval, and use by attorney.
• Conduct research, collect, record, organize, and analyze data relative to legal issues to assist in the preparation of legal documents.
• Assist the office by performing assigned technical tasks under immediate supervision of attorneys and other legal staff.
• Research and verify points of law cited by attorneys in memoranda.
• Prepare draft pleadings, correspondence, legal memoranda, opinions, briefs, and other documents.
• Respond to requests for legal opinions at the direction of attorneys.
• Assist in meetings with clients, conferences with opposing counsel, mediation and settlement discussions, and conferences with attorneys from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the local U.S. Attorney's office (AUSA) assigned to the FHWA's environmental cases or other cases.

The ideal Law School candidate is an individual with excellent legal research and writing skills, who can handle and prioritize multiple competing tasks and a diverse workload while maintaining collegiate working relationships. This individual has a demonstrated interest in administrative law, environment law, or transportation law. The ideal candidate will provide a cover letter (maximum two pages) explaining his/her specific interest in this position and highlighting his/her relevant work experience and educational background.

Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:

• You must be in Law Student Status for the full internship.
• You must be a U.S. Citizen and meet the requirements of the program.
• You must be at least 16 years of age.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

Pathways Eligibility - To be eligible for appointment to a position in the DOT Pathways Internship Program, throughout the duration of the appointment, as a baseline an individual must (see qualifications section for additional series/grade requirements):

• Be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution on a half to full-time basis (as determined by the educational institution).
• Be seeking a degree that is relevant to this position. (For this internship you must be seeking a degree in Law.)
• Be able to work at least 16 hours per week during the academic semester, depending on your academic schedule, and preferably full-time during the summer. This is not a summer only position.
• Grade qualifications must be met prior to start date.

If selected you:

• must sign a Pathways Internship Program Participant Agreement;
• may be employed throughout the academic year;
• must maintain status as a current law student;
• must maintain good academic standing, at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 grading scale.
• must furnish course registration information at the start of each school term; and
• must provide verification of academic status (transcript) at the end of each academic term.
• For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets

Additional Conditions of Employment:

• United States Citizenship: Must Be a U.S. Citizen to Apply for This Position.
• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• DECLARATION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT: Selectee is required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine suitability for federal employment.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Must complete a background investigation.
• TRIAL PERIOD: The intern is in a trial period throughout the entire Pathways Internship appointment.
• TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position is approved for occasional telework. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor, and if applicable, approval of additional officials. You are required to report to the office on a regular basis since this is not a full-time telework position, or approved as a remote work position.

Qualifications:
Please be sure that you have read and meet the Pathways program requirements under the Requirements section. Then, to further meet the minimum qualifications for this position, review the following grade specific education requirements to determine full eligibility before applying.

Note that if you are graduating at the end of this current semester, and not continuing your education, you are not eligible for this internship. You must be enrolled as a Law student while employed as an intern.

Law Student Status: An eligible student is an individual who is enrolled in law school pursuing a Juris Doctor Degree or a LL.B Legum Baccalaureus Degree and is taking at least half-time academic course load in an American Bar Association accredited university. Successful candidates must have outstanding academic records, superior writing skills, and be in good academic standing at his/her university.

You must meet the following education requirements for each grade by the start of the internship (anticipated to start Spring/Summer 2024). You may use 2024 in-progress semester/quarter hours to qualify for a higher grade level. Qualifications will be determined based on completed and in-progress hours stated on your unofficial transcript submitted at the time of application. To be qualifying, you must successfully complete and receive credit for the courses and provide an updated official transcript before you enter on duty. Apply to the grade(s) that you will be eligible for and provide the applicable supporting documentation.

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must be a current second or third year law student whom has met the education requirements below for each grade which you are requesting consideration for. Transcript(s) are required for verification.

GS-07 - Completion of one academic year of graduate level education (above a bachelor's).
GS-09 - Completion of two academic years of graduate level education (above a bachelor's), or awarded a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree.
Academic year definition: For qualification purposes, an academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 academic year of full-time study. This determination is made based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement for the GS-07; and 36 semester hours for 2 years of full-time study should be considered as satisfying the GS-09 requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

When academic credit is expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the appropriate institution in order to equate them to the semester or quarter hours specified in the standard.