JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INITIATES NEW DIVERSITY PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Attorney General John Ashcroft and Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson today announced a series of new Justice Department initiatives aimed at strengthening the Department’s attorney workforce by intensifying outreach to individuals from different racial, ethnic, economic, and geographic backgrounds, and by creating incentives to enter and remain in public service.

In a Great Hall ceremony for Department employees, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General unveiled a detailed plan that includes aggressive outreach to law students and young lawyers who have a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, financial assistance to help repay student loans, mentoring and career development, and diversity training.

“We are committed to developing and maintaining a highly qualified and diverse work force to enhance the integrity and performance of the Justice Department,” Ashcroft said.

“Our pursuit of justice is stronger, and the fulfillment of our national mission more effective, when we bring to bear the experience, judgment, and energy of colleagues from a wide spectrum of racial, ethnic, economic, and geographic backgrounds,” Thompson said. “To succeed fully in our mission, we must earn and retain the trust and confidence of all Americans in how we fulfill our responsibility as custodians of justice. And that trust and confidence is a function of the American people’s understanding that the Department of Justice draws on the finest legal talent from every quarter of this great nation.”

The Department will take the following actions to implement this initiative:

·Conduct aggressive and focused outreach to educate law students and young lawyers-from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences - about the benefits of a career at the Department of Justice.

üA new Deputy for Recruitment in the Department’s Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management will be appointed who is responsible for proactively identifying ways to recruit a more diverse applicant pool for the Attorney General’s Honors Program and lateral vacancies at the Department.

·Make information about attorney and supervisory vacancies more transparent and accessible both to attorneys outside the Department and to current Department personnel.

üWithin 30 days, all attorney and supervisory vacancies, including vacancies at U.S. Attorney’s Offices, will be posted on DOJ’s in-house Intranet. In the coming months, all attorney vacancies will be posted on the Internet.

·Utilize existing legal authority to assist with the repayment of student loans for qualifying new attorneys entering the Department under the Honors Program or laterally, and as a mechanism to retain experienced attorneys.

üOPM regulations allow federal agencies to pay up to $6,000 annually toward the repayment of qualifying federal student loans for an employee who meets the requisite criteria, up to a maximum of $40,000 per employee. Individuals receiving the benefit of this loan repayment program will, in turn, have a minimum 3-year service obligation to the Department of Justice.

üThe Department already has reallocated $300,000 from the Department’s Special Project Fund to begin immediate implementation of the loan repayment program for FY03. It will double its commitment to $600,000 in FY04, enabling the Department to provide financial assistance to as many as 100 qualifying attorneys.

·Institute a mentoring program for all incoming attorneys.

·Initiate diversity training throughout the Department in the coming months.

·Establish a formal career development program for all Department attorneys in collaboration with OPM. This program will be aimed at assessing managerial potential and developing the skill sets and qualifications in attorneys necessary to assume management responsibility at the SES level.

·Monitor the Department’s progress in achieving the goal of a more diverse attorney workforce.

·Conduct exit interviews with all voluntarily departing attorneys to determine their reasons for leaving and to develop strategies to promote increased retention.

“Today we embark on a series of initiatives that will enhance our ability both to pursue justice, and to demonstrate to the American people our commitment to justice,” Thompson said. “In undertaking these initiatives, we will continue to demand that the attorneys who comprise and represent the Department of Justice meet the highest standards of excellence and professionalism.”

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