The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the General Counsel has an annual summer law clerk program, the “Office of the Secretary of Defense Honors Legal Intern Program,” which provides 1st and 2nd year law students an opportunity to gain experience practicing law for the Federal government by working for DoD at the Pentagon. The Internships are paid positions, with different salary rates for 1st and 2nd year law students.

The client, DoD, with over 3 million military members and civilian employees, and an annual budget in excess of $400 Billion, is one of the largest entities served by any group of attorneys in the world. Its mission, to defend the United States, makes the practice of law within DoD a unique experience. Few organizations can provide summer law clerks the diversity of practice areas and experiences that are available as an Office of the Secretary of Defense Honors Legal Intern in the Office of the DoD General Counsel!

About Our Office:

        The DoD Office of the General Counsel (OGC) is part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The DoD General Counsel is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and serves as the Chief Legal Officer of DoD, the legal advisor to the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the Defense Legal Services Agency (in which capacity he or she oversees the General Counsel Offices of over two dozen Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities).

The DoD OGC is the highest level legal organization in DoD. While DoD as a whole has over 10,000 civilian and military attorneys, the DoD OGC itself employs approximately 100 attorneys.

What We Do:

The DoD OGC is responsible for advising high level policy makers in OSD. In addition, the Office works closely with senior attorneys and policy makers from the military departments, as well as the White House, Departments of Justice, State, Treasury, and other Government agencies. The Office also frequently works on special projects for OSD.

The issues considered by DoD OGC are very broad and surprisingly diverse. Not surprisingly, unique legal issues arise as a result of the national security and military missions of DoD such as those involving international relations, military operations, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and intelligence and counterintelligence policy. The office also advises in all practice areas common to the practice of law in the federal government, including constitutional issues, the acquisition process, the appropriations process, environmental law, property law, administrative law, employee and labor management relations, information disclosure (the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act), government ethics, legislation, litigation support, and review of investigations. Perhaps surprising to those not familiar with DoD are the many legal questions arising from practice areas that some may not immediately associate with DoD such as healthcare (DoD runs it own hospital and health care system) and education law (DoD operates its own K-12 school system for its dependents, as well as a series of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate schools). Other pages on this website provide more detail on the diverse practice areas of DoD OGC.

What You Can Expect to Do as an OSD Honors Legal Intern:

Within the Office, interns are usually assigned to one of eight sub offices: Acquisition & Logistics; Environment and Installations; Fiscal; International Affairs; Intelligence; Legal Counsel; Personnel & Health Policy; and Standards of Conduct, or to the Offices of General Counsel for Washington Headquarters Service and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

Summer interns in the OSD Honors Legal Internship Program are given considerable flexibility in their assignments. There are substantial opportunities to enhance research and drafting skills by working in close association with members of DoD OGC. Interns will assist in drafting and commenting on legislation, regulations, congressional testimony, litigation materials, and legal opinions. Interns will have the opportunity to assist in the process of formulating DoD legal policy on high-profile topics of current interest.

Our intern program also includes visits to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Senate Armed Services Committee, various military bases and Defense agencies or DoD field activities. In addition, throughout the summer, senior attorneys within the DoD OGC describes to each student his or her area of legal practice so the interns have a better understanding of the variety of legal work performed within DoD OGC. In addition, Presidential Appointees confirmed by the Senate also speak to the interns about their respective areas of expertise and about policy at the Pentagon. All of these program activities are intended to familiarize the interns with both the mission of DoD and the practice of law by federal attorneys in general.

How to Apply:

An announcement with specific details of how to apply for the OSD Honors Legal Internship Program in the following summer will be posted each year in mid September. Please check back at that time for the addition of a link below for the announcement of how to apply for the program.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

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