Prosecution Externship - Eastern District of New York

Students selected for the program will be required to pass a security background check overseen by the Department of Justice’s Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management (“OARM”). A favorable determination from OARM is required before an extern may begin working in any U.S. Attorney's Office. A student must be a United States citizen to be eligible to work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an extern. In making its determination regarding suitability, OARM considers a number of factors, including a candidate’s tax filing and payment history, credit history, candor, and history of any usage of controlled substances. It is critical that students accepted for the externship complete the required security paperwork as soon as possible after acceptance into the externship so that the security background check can be timely obtained. A student may not commence externship work unless he or she has cleared the background check. In addition, because the U.S. Attorney's Office is involved in litigation against many private law offices, legal services offices and other state or municipal law firms, students may not work part-time in such an office and participate in the externship. Nor may you work for any federal judges while participating in this clinic. Furthermore, you may not receive any income or advance compensation from a law firm during the externship.

Students who have been preliminarily selected for an externship position must thereafter supply information for a background check and be granted a favorable security clearance in order to work in this Office. In the context of the security clearance process, you will be asked to provide information, where applicable, concerning, among other things, your employment history, foreign travel, contacts with foreign nationals, dual citizenship, financial record, police record, and treatment for an emotional or mental health condition that could impair your judgment or reliability. The most common suitability issues that arise during the security clearance process are: past unlawful use of drugs, including marijuana; failure to comply with financial obligations; failure to register for the selective service; and misrepresentations or omissions on the security form. Students must be U.S. citizens and must have spent 3 of the last 5 years in the U.S.

For more information, consult the website for the EDNY. If you hold dual citizenship, have lived abroad for more than two of the past five years, or have  any other questions about the security clearance process, contact the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) to consult their Government Handbook and/or Prosecution Handbook.

Application Procedure

Students should fill out and submit the standard application, resume and unofficial transcript using CAMS, the online application system. LL.M.s who are U.S. citizens and meet residency requirements will also be considered. The LL.M. deadline is different than for JDs, and is posted on the Clinic Application Timelines page. Please note there is a separate application form for LL.M.s. There will be no interview.