Legal Careers
Law Student Volunteer
Suite # 300
Lexington, KY 40507 - United States
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky is the local arm of the United States Department of Justice. Its jurisdiction covers 67 counties, east to west from Shelby County to Pike County, and north to south from the Ohio border to the Tennessee border. Its mission is to represent the federal government in both criminal and civil matters. Criminally, it is tasked with prosecuting all federal crimes, including acts of terrorism, public corruption, civil rights offenses, white-collar fraud, controlled substance and firearm offenses, organized crime, internet-related crime, and many other criminal acts. Civilly, it both defends the United States when the United States is sued as well as affirmatively pursues civil matters when entities or individuals violate a criminal, regulatory, or civil law. Finally, the United States Attorney's Office also represents the United States on appeals before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The office is headquartered in Lexington, with branch offices in Ft. Mitchell and London. All civil and most criminal fraud prosecutions are handled by the Lexington office, while other criminal matters are prosecuted by the Lexington, Ft. Mitchell, and London offices depending on where the crimes occur.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
As the federal agency whose mission it is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
An internship with the United States Attorney's Office provides an exciting opportunity for law students to get an overview of the federal legal system. This will be accomplished through working closely with Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs), observing court proceedings throughout the district, meeting with federal judges and federal law enforcement partners (including, but not limited to, the FBI, Secret Service, DEA, IRS and ATF) and touring federal institutions such as the federal prisons in the district. The usual assignments for legal interns will be legal research, reviewing evidence, and drafting pleading and responses to be used by an AUSA in federal court. This internship is uncompensated.
For the summer of 2024, there will be 3 intern positions in the Lexington office and 1 each in Ft. Mitchell and London. Interns in the Lexington office will have the opportunity to work with both criminal and civil AUSAs but will be asked to select which practice area they wish to be their primary focus. Interns in the London and Ft. Mitchell offices will work primarily on general criminal matters. Interns will be expected to travel within the district to other offices or courthouses on occasion.
The internship will begin approximately in late May and last a minimum of 10 weeks until August. Interns will be expected to work full-time and in-person during those 10 weeks.
To be eligible for this internship ALL of the following requirements must be met:
- Student Status: Acceptance of applications for this announcement will be limited to rising second- and third-year law students. An eligible student is an individual enrolled in law school pursuing a Juris Doctor degree. Successful candidates must have outstanding academic records, superior writing skills and be in good academic standing at his/her university. Student interns must be United States Citizens. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
- Grade Point Average: You must have at least a 2.5 GPA.
Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply onlineprocess).
Required: Cover letter (please note preferred location [Lexington, Ft. Mitchell, or London] and, if the applicant prefers Lexington,the preferred practice area [Criminal or Civil], in bold on the upper left corner of the cover letter);
Required: Your resume;
Required: Current Unoff icial law school transcript GPA (if additional grades are released aft er the initial application, pleasesupplement as the grades become available);
Required: One legal writing sample (20 pages or less);
Required: The best phone number and e-mail address for the applicant.
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a United States Citizen or National.
- You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
- You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
- Background investigation and credit check required.
- You must be at least 16 years of age or older.
To apply for this position, please go to USAJOBS URL: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/753464600
All applicatiosn must be received through USAJOBS.
For questions, contact Bambima Merriman at 859-685-4897 or bambi.merriman@usdoj.gov.
$0 - $0 without compensation
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Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
USAO Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.