United States Department of Commerce
Office of the General Counsel

Summer Legal Internship Program

Applications are accepted every year from January thru March.

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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