The Honors Program in the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) provides challenging professional opportunities for outstanding law school graduates. National Office Honors Attorneys work with the various client agencies within the Department of Labor, gaining exposure to a broad range of substantive legal work in one of the government’s preeminent legal offices. After completing the two-year program, Honors Attorneys continue their careers as permanent employees of SOL.
Qualifications:
All applicants must be ranked or have graduated in the top half of their class or have a minimum GPA of 3.0 at the time of application (if currently enrolled in law school) or upon graduation from law school.
FOR LAW CLERK POSITIONS:
Applicants who have not been admitted to a state bar may be selected for a Law Clerk, GS-0904-11 position. Appointments as a Law Clerk are limited to 14 months during which time the appointee must be admitted in good standing to the bar of a court of general jurisdiction of a state, territory or possession of the United States, after which the Law Clerk will be appointed to a permanent appointment as an Attorney.
FOR ATTORNEY POSITIONS:
Applicants applying for the General Attorney, GS-0905 positions, must possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.); be a member in good standing of the bar of a court of general jurisdiction of a state, territory or possession of the U.S.; and have acquired the amount of experience indicated below for each grade level.
GS-11, applicants must possess progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.
GS-12, applicants must possess (1) year of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.
GS-13, applicants must possess (2) years of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.
GS-14, applicants must possess (3) years of progressively responsible legal experience of a professional nature which demonstrates the ability to perform the work at this level.
Responsibilities:
WHO WE ARE
The Office of the Solicitor serves as the legal counsel for the U.S. Department of Labor. The approximately 516 attorneys in SOL enforce and interpret occupational and mine safety and health laws, civil rights laws, pension and health benefit laws, minimum wage and overtime requirements, whistleblower protections, and international labor standards. SOL also provides legal services to programs that pay Federal benefits to the victims of certain occupational diseases and accidents, provide grants in support of employment and training programs, and administer unemployment benefits. In all, SOL attorneys work with more than 180 labor and employment laws.
SOL has more independent litigating authority than virtually any other cabinet department outside the Justice Department. SOL attorneys represent the Secretary of Labor in proceedings before federal district courts, federal courts of appeals, and administrative law judges. SOL attorneys also play a leading role in important and high-profile federal rulemakings and policy decisions.
About half of SOL's attorneys serve in the National Office in Washington, D.C., and the remainder work in one of the 14 regional and branch offices across the country. Those offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland, Denver, Nashville, Los Angeles, and Arlington, Virginia.
The Department of Labor’s mission is to promote the welfare of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees, to improve working conditions, to advance opportunities for profitable employment, and to ensure work-related benefits and rights. Honors Attorneys play a crucial role in enabling the Department to carry out its mission. Like the Department, the Honors Program is more effective when its workforce includes highly qualified individuals whose backgrounds reflect our nation’s richly diverse workforce.
THE WORK OF A NATIONAL HONORS PROGRAM ATTORNEY
Attorneys in the Honors Program who are located in the National Office in Washington, DC, will spend their first two years in SOL handling a broad variety of assignments from divisions in the National Office.
Past National Office Honors Attorneys have:
Honors Attorneys in the National Office may also receive assignments from SOL's Regional Offices, which typically involve trial work, including discovery, motions practice, and co-chairing trials. After the first six to nine months in the program, Honors Attorneys in the National Office begin a series of three-month rotations to various SOL divisions. National Office Honors Attorneys may also volunteer to work in a Regional Office for one of their rotations.
After two years, National Office Honors Attorneys will be permanently placed in a specific office in SOL. All efforts will be made to accommodate attorneys' preferences among the National Office divisions and regional offices, consistent with the needs of the Department.
The Honors Program gives attorneys a unique opportunity to help interpret and enforce a broad range of labor and employment laws while working in one of the largest legal offices in the Federal government. Honors Attorneys will gain experience that would be difficult to obtain in years of private practice and will share the honor and privilege of representing the United States Government and engaging in public service.
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