Justice Department and IRS Hiring Fewer New Lawyers in Honors Program
Job-hunting law graduates will face more difficult odds next year if they want a position through a government honors program.
Budget constraints are forcing the U.S. Justice Department to trim its hiring, the National Law Journal reports. The department hired 211 honors attorneys in 2010, but only 165 honors lawyers this year. Next year the department expects to hire only 70 to 80 lawyers through the program.
The department has received 2,622 applications for those 70 to 80 spots, the story says.
Newly minted lawyers will also have trouble finding jobs at the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC has implemented a hiring freeze, while the IRS Office of Chief Counsel is limiting its honors hiring next year to those who worked for the agency during the summer.
Starting pay for an honors attorney is typically $62,000. Some lawyers who started out in the honors program include Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole.
