The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

2009 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Honor Program for Law Students Graduating in 2008, Full-Time Graduate Law Students and Judicial Law Clerks

APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2008

This booklet contains a two-page application for the EEOC's Honor Program and instructions for completing it. The instructions address many of the most frequently asked questions and highlight some common errors students make when completing the application.

We encourage you to read the instructions carefully and to follow the application "Checklist" to ensure that your application to the EEOC's Honor Program is accepted. Because of the volume of applications we receive and process in a very limited time, we are unable to accommodate requests to change previously submitted applications or to accept incomplete or late applications.

Please keep this book for reference because it addresses questions you may have later. This application is also available on the EEOC's web page (http://www.eeoc.gov).

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation employer.

THE PROGRAM

Welcome to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's 9th Annual Attorney Honor Program recruitment season. The Honor Program has enjoyed tremendous success in the recruitment and hiring of entry-level attorneys into the EEOC. So far, thirty seven attorneys have been hired through the Honor Program. These attorneys have come from all over the country; some directly from law school, and others from judicial clerkships. They have entered employment as Trial Attorneys in the EEOC's District Offices, in such locations as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Houston. Others work as Attorney-Advisors at our Headquarters in Washington, DC, drafting appellate briefs in the Office of General Counsel, as litigators in the Office of Legal Counsel and as appellate decision-writers in the Office of Federal Operations. Consistent with one of the Program's goals, many of the selectees have engaged in temporary assignments to other offices to gain broad exposure to the work of the Commission.

The Honor Program was inaugurated in 2000 as a collaboration between the EEOC and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Its purpose is to recruit the most qualified entry-level attorneys and train them for highly skilled legal work within each agency. Each year, the EEOC hires a number of new attorneys through the Honor Program for those Commission offices that are designated to participate in the Honor Program that year. Attorneys hired under the Honor Program are assigned to challenging positions, offering valuable legal experience and substantial individual responsibility. In an effort to broaden their legal experience, each Honor Program attorney is given the opportunity to rotate into different assignments both within the EEOC and with the NLRB. In addition, Honor Program attorneys receive extensive training to ensure their legal proficiency and expertise in particular practice areas.

The Honor Program is highly competitive. The Commission averages well over 300 applicants for the positions offered each year. These applicants come from a broad and diverse background. They include third-year law students, judicial law clerks and graduate law students. The Honor Program is one of the few ways in which the EEOC hires recent graduates.

Selection for the Honor Program is based on many factors: academic achievement; relevant course work; journal membership; moot court participation, legal aid/clinic experience; and summer and/or part-time employment. Particular emphasis in the review of applications will be given to those applicants who have demonstrated leadership skills, have shown an interest in pursuing civil rights, labor and employment law issues, and have demonstrated a dedication to public service.

Please review the application materials carefully and follow all instructions. Thank you for your interest in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Attorney Honor Program.

ELIGIBILITY

You are eligible to apply to the 2009 Honor Program, IF:

• you are a third-year law student who will complete your studies in the winter of 2008 or in the spring/summer of 2009; OR
• you are a full-time graduate law student expected to graduate in spring/summer of 2009. Your graduate study must have immediately followed law school graduation with no significant post-J.D. employment and must be full-time for the duration of study; OR
• ‚ you will be a Judicial Law Clerk prior to the application deadline and will complete your clerkship prior to September 30, 2009. Your clerkship must be your first significant legal employment following your graduation and, generally, must begin no later than seven months post J.D. You may serve in a single one or two year clerkship or in two consecutive one year clerkships. Your clerkship may be no more than two years in duration; AND ,
• you are a U.S. citizen.

APPLYING TO THE PROGRAM

To apply to the EEOC's Honor Program, submit your application package to the address listed below by the RECEIPT DEADLINE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2008:

ATTORNEY HONOR PROGRAM
Amelia Demopulos, Supervisory Attorney
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Office of Federal Operations
1801 L Street, N.W., Room 5060
Washington, D.C. 20507

• Your application package must contain FOUR sets of the following information, collated and stapled in the following order :
  1. your completed application form which is contained herein;
  2. a cover letter explaining your interest in the program;
  3. your current resume; and,
  4. your law school transcript (official or unofficial), which should include a copy of your law school's grading system explanation, if available. Your transcript must accompany your application package. DO NOT HAVE YOUR LAW SCHOOL SEND IT SEPARATELY.

AN INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKAGE INVALIDATES YOUR APPLICATION.

• We will acknowledge receipt of your application if you enclose a STAMPED, self-addressed POSTCARD with your application package.
• Acknowledgment of receipt does not mean that your application is considered valid. No notice will be provided if your application is found to be invalid.

INTERVIEWS

The EEOC interviews candidates for the Honor Program at our Headquarters in Washington, DC or in one of our District Offices located throughout the country. Those candidates selected for interviews will each be apprized of the time, date and location of the interview. Every effort will be made to interview candidates within their geographic vicinity. However, those applicants outside of the geographic vicinity of an EEOC office must make their own travel arrangements for a personal interview, and the candidate is responsible for expenses incurred while traveling to the interview. Otherwise, the interview may be conducted by telephone or by video conference.

The EEOC office participating in the Honor Program will conduct only one round of interviews. There are no "call back" interviews. Attorneys from within that office interview candidates for the Honor Program. Since interviewers frequently change because of scheduling conflicts, we cannot provide the names of individual interviewers. If you are not selected for an interview, you are no longer under consideration for employment and will be notified by letter.

OFFERS

• Candidates selected to receive an offer will be notified by telephone or e-mail by the hiring office.
• If you need to respond to a competing offer and would like to assess the likelihood of receiving an offer from the EEOC, please contact your interviewer at the number provided by him or her no earlier than two weeks after your interviews.

SALARIES

POTENTIAL FOR PROMOTION

Annual performance appraisals are conducted for all attorneys employed by the EEOC. Honor Program attorneys are eligible for promotion after passing the bar and serving the minimum time-in-grade at the next lower level. The minimum time-in-grade at entry levels are:

• GS-11 to GS-12 - 1 year
• GS-12 to GS-13 - 1 year
• GS-13 to GS-14 - 1 year

LENGTH OF APPOINTMENT

Honor Program candidates are hired for permanent attorney positions. The EEOC asks that candidates selected for positions make a commitment to remain with the Commission for at least three years. All J.D. graduates are required to pass a bar examination within 14 months of entry on duty and be duly licensed to practice as an attorney in a U.S. state, territory or the District of Columbia.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Prior to finalizing your appointment as an Honor Program attorney, the EEOC requires satisfactory completion of a background investigation.

OFFICE ASSIGNMENTS

For the 2009 EEOC Honor Program, the following offices are participating:

Office of General Counsel (1 position)
Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA or Phoenix, AZ

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for affirmative litigation in federal and state courts under four federal employment discrimination statutes: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. EEOC's trial court litigation, almost all of which occurs in federal district courts, is conducted by trial attorneys assigned to EEOC offices throughout the United States. In addition to filing and litigating employment discrimination suits, EEOC trial attorneys provide advice and other assistance to agency staff responsible for investigating and resolving administrative claims of employment discrimination filed by members of the public. OGC has one position and will be hiring a trial attorney who will be located in Denver, Los Angeles or Phoenix.

Office of Legal Counsel (1 position)
Washington, D.C.

The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to the Chair, the Commission, and EEOC headquarters and field offices. As the chief legal advisor to the Chair and Commission, OLC develops, for Commission approval, regulations, policies, procedures, and guidance that interpret and implement EEOC enforced statutes, including Title VII, the ADEA, the Equal Pay Act, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. OLC ensures that the Commission executes its responsibilities for leadership and coordination of federal external and internal equal employment programs. OLC attorneys also represent the Commission in litigation in which the Commission is a defendant, provide advice on procurement, ethics, and fiscal issues, and process all FOIA appeals for the agency. OLC is hiring one attorney who will be located in Washington, DC.

Office of Federal Operations (1 position)
Washington, DC

The Office of Federal Operations (OFO) is responsible for promoting equal employment opportunity (EEO) in the federal sector and adjudicating appeals on discrimination complaints filed by federal employees alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In addition to providing technical assistance to EEOC Administrative Judges and federal agency EEO programs, OFO is charged with monitoring federal agency compliance with 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 and Commission issued management directives. Attorneys assigned to OFO will draft appellate decisions, perform statistical analysis of workforce data, examine barriers to equal employment opportunity, provide training and outreach, and conduct onsite program evaluations. OFO is hiring one attorney who will be located in Washington, DC.

APPLICATION FORM

The application form begins on the next page. Please fill out completely and ensure that you comply with all the application requirements set forth in the section entitled "Applying to the Program." Applications must be received no later than Friday October 3, 2008.

This page was last modified on August 27, 2008.

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