Yesterday, the CDO hosted an information session with Richard Parker, an attorney in the tax section of the appellate division of the Department of Justice. Although Mr. Parker was not able to travel to New Orleans, we were able to have him speak directly to the students and present a power-point presentation and students were able to ask questions through our amazing video-conference capabilities. This allows the Career Development Office to have people from all around the world speak to the students about their careers as if they were in Weinmann Hall. Mr. Parker even commented that this was the first time they had used video-conference to make this type of presentation and was very pleased with the entire program.
Mr. Parker presented information about the Attorney General’s Honors Program, the Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP), the Volunteer Legal Intern program, and Experienced Attorney hiring procedures by the Department of Justice. The Attorney General’s Honors Program is the only way that entry-level attorneys are hired by the Department of Justice. Every year, a number of third-year law students apply for this opportunity. The SLIP program is a way for students to receive a compensated summer internship with the Department of Justice. This past summer, we were very fortunate to have a few students participate in SLIP. The Volunteer Legal Intern opportunities are also ways to work for the Department of Justice if you are not able to be admitted through SLIP. Every year, we have a number of students working for the Department of Justice as Volunteer Legal Interns, particularly with different US Attorney’s Offices throughout the nation.
In applying for these positions, Mr. Parker gave several pieces of advice on how to make your application stand out. My favorite tip was that students should determine “what about you is unique and authentic and makes you a good fit for the particular component.” He also encouraged the students to keep applying; even if they are not able to be admitted through SLIP, then do a Volunteer Legal Internship or if you are not admitted through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, then apply later as an Experienced Attorney. Mr. Parker’s compelling speech gave our students a “behind the scenes” glance at the Department of Justice and examples of ways to make their application stronger. We are very grateful to Mr. Parker for sharing this information with us and fortunate that we were able to have him speak directly to our students through the wonderful video-conferencing abilities.
Thanks to our awesome government counselor,
Amanda Moeller, for organzing the DOJ program and blogging about it. Look forward to working with Amanda for all of your government-related career questions.