United
States Department of Commerce
Office of the General Counsel
Summer Legal Internship Program
Applications
are accepted from 1st and 2nd year law students beginning January 3, 2005
to March 15.
Each year, the Department of Commerce offers Summer Legal Internships
to a significant number of first and second year law students. Because
of the breadth of issues dealt with by the Commerce Department’s
eight bureaus, the Commerce Summer Legal Intern Program offers a law student
legal experience that cannot be duplicated.
Eligibility and General
Information
The Summer Law Intern Program
is highly competitive. Summer Legal Interns may expect to be assigned
to positions that offer both valuable experience and substantial individual
responsibility. Students are selected on the basis of merit. Selection
will be based on many factors including: academic achievement, law courses,
law review or other publication experience; moot court, legal aid or legal
clinic participation; extracurricular activities; and previous summer
and/or part-time employment.
Offices which usually participate in the Summer Legal Intern program are:
Chief Counsel for International Commerce; Chief Counsel for Import Administration;
Chief Counsel for the Bureau of Industry & Security; Assistant General
Counsel for Administration (labor and employment law, government ethics
and administrative law); Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and
Regulation; Assistant General Counsel for Finance and Litigation (tort
and commercial litigation, contract law and grant review); Chief Counsel
for Commercial Law Development; Chief Counsel for Technology Administration
which provides legal services to the National Institute of Standards and
Technology; and Chief Counsel for Economic Affairs which provides legal
services to the Census Bureau. The General Counsel for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration; General Counsel for the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office; Chief Counsel for the National Telecommunication and
Information Administration; and Chief Counsel for the Economic Development
Administration may also offer summer internships.
The Commerce Department offers a variety of different types of summer
internships – voluntary internships, internships for academic credit
or, depending on funding availability, paid internships. Paid summer internships
may be offered at the GS-7 level or at the GS-9 level depending on experience
and completion of academic courses. In addition to valuable legal experience,
the Department of Commerce summer interns participate in many planned
activities, such as a welcoming reception, lunch with experts on such
topics as international trade, environmental and technology law (particularly
on the legal frontier of e-commerce) and social activities.
Applications, Deadlines and Interviews
First or second-year law students should submit a resume, an
official or unofficial law school transcript, and a short legal writing
sample of less than 10 pages to:
Office of the General Counsel
Executive Office
14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Room 5875
Washington, D.C. 20230
ATTN: Summer Legal Intern Program
Alternatively, you may apply
electronically at ogcexecutiveoffice@doc.gov
and you must have the subject line read “Summer Intern”.
Only send one application packet whether electronically or via mail. Recruitment
for the Summer Intern Program is during the winter/spring which precedes
the summer internships. For the summer program, applications must be submitted
to the Executive Office no earlier than January 3 and no later
than March 15. The application, interview and offer process for
this Program is structured and conducted within a specific time frame.
Applications will be shared with all of the Department of Commerce legal
offices.
If applicants only wish to be considered by specific offices, please note
your preferences in the application package. The majority of the offices
participating in the Summer Law Intern Program normally require candidates
to interview in person. Interviewing for the Summer Intern Program is
done at a number of locations, in addition to Washington, D.C. Travel
expenses for initial interviews are the responsibility of the applicant.
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