DOJ Honors 2016-2017 Cycle: Application Status Tracker in the OP - Please update! Forum

[ScratchableItch]

Really? Whenever I've heard it discussed, "main justice" has generally meant all of the DOJ components in DC aside from the DC USA office. Whether or not they're in a certain building, I've always taken "main justice" to include criminal, civil rights, etc as well as the administrative and policy offices in DC.

Yes, really. If you ever discuss DOJ with an current or former DOJ attorney, they're going to think "main justice" as either the front office or at least the offices within the main building. Using "main justice" in the broad sense to a DOJ attorney would be like asking a law firm transactional attorney about "corporate law." Their thought would be "what kind of corporate law? cap markets, m&a, securities, etc."

Well yes, it was all current and former DOJ attorneys who referred to main justice in the way I indicated.

But I apologize for derailing the thread and will now bow out!

[A. Nony Mouse]

Actually a DC DOJ attorney just posted about this (because I was confused too) and said the admin stuff is "the front office," and "main justice" refers the criminal division (as distinct from the USAOs). And I would imagine civil, civil rights, etc. are what they are.

Edit:

CRM attorney here again:
Internally we refer to ourselves by component.
Within DOJ we are referred to as CRM.
In the criminal prosecution world, everyone refers to CRM as main justice, which is how we are differentiated from USAOS.
The AGS office (as well as AAG offices) within DOJ are referred to as "The Front Office."

(I suppose outside of criminal prosecution people may say main justice and just mean DOJ in DC.)

[Nebby]

Actually a DC DOJ attorney just posted about this (because I was confused too) and said the admin stuff is "the front office," and "main justice" refers the criminal division (as distinct from the USAOs). And I would imagine civil, civil rights, etc. are what they are.

Edit:

CRM attorney here again:
Internally we refer to ourselves by component.
Within DOJ we are referred to as CRM.
In the criminal prosecution world, everyone refers to CRM as main justice, which is how we are differentiated from USAOS.
The AGS office (as well as AAG offices) within DOJ are referred to as "The Front Office."

(I suppose outside of criminal prosecution people may say main justice and just mean DOJ in DC.)

For students interested in DOJ, it's probably best to refer to the divisions rather than an amorphous "main justice," because referring to a specific division demonstrates that they have some idea of what they're talking about.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone ITT remember when participating components were posted last year? The participating components page has said "Updates for 2017-2018 Coming Soon" since the beginning of March.

[FSK]

Does anyone ITT remember when participating components were posted last year? The participating components page has said "Updates for 2017-2018 Coming Soon" since the beginning of March.

I don't remember but they have no idea b/c budget. Expect basically none, b/c republicans.

[Nosso]

Does anyone ITT remember when participating components were posted last year? The participating components page has said "Updates for 2017-2018 Coming Soon" since the beginning of March.

I don't remember but they have no idea b/c budget. Expect basically none, b/c republicans.

This, mostly. Immigration clerkships will likely stay the same. Other components like Civil Rights and ENRD will probably drop to 1-2 hires per year rather than the 10-12 (that's what it looked like during the sequester years). You should obviously still apply, but it is going to be even more competitive than it already is.

[FSK]

Yeah, go back and read the threads from 2012-2014, and see the quality of candidate that was getting dinged. Justice hiring 20 instead of 120 for non-immigration position (plus the other agencies) 1) drastically ramps out the competition for DOJ jobs and 2) puts additional exceedingly qualified candidates into the biglaw pool.

[Anonymous User]

Rising 2L interested in DOJ Honors. When would I apply for this?

[Nosso]

Rising 2L interested in DOJ Honors. When would I apply for this?

Late summer/early fall of your 3L year or clerkship year if you do one straight out of LS. If you don't have any DOJ experience, apply for SLIP (you'd do that this summer/fall) and do that for a summer. Even better: try to split between a firm and SLIP to hedge your bets (assuming your firm offers you a permanent gig). Honors is far from a guarantee even for those with exceptional credentials.

[Anonymous User]

Rising 2L interested in DOJ Honors. When would I apply for this?

Late summer/early fall of your 3L year or clerkship year if you do one straight out of LS. If you don't have any DOJ experience, apply for SLIP (you'd do that this summer/fall) and do that for a summer. Even better: try to split between a firm and SLIP to hedge your bets (assuming your firm offers you a permanent gig). Honors is far from a guarantee even for those with exceptional credentials.

How competitive is SLIP compared to Honors? Am I better off transferring to a T6 from a T20 for Honors?

[Nosso]

Rising 2L interested in DOJ Honors. When would I apply for this?

Late summer/early fall of your 3L year or clerkship year if you do one straight out of LS. If you don't have any DOJ experience, apply for SLIP (you'd do that this summer/fall) and do that for a summer. Even better: try to split between a firm and SLIP to hedge your bets (assuming your firm offers you a permanent gig). Honors is far from a guarantee even for those with exceptional credentials.

How competitive is SLIP compared to Honors? Am I better off transferring to a T6 from a T20 for Honors?

I never did SLIP so I can't say for sure, but I've gotten the vibe that it is somewhat less competitive. It's still not a gimme though.

I stumbled across this and figured it was relevant. This is the DOJ honors page from 2011: https://web.archive.org/web/20111017080 ... pants.html

For example, Civil Div hired a total of 3 people compared to the 30+ they hired this year.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Rising 2L interested in DOJ Honors. When would I apply for this?

Late summer/early fall of your 3L year or clerkship year if you do one straight out of LS. If you don't have any DOJ experience, apply for SLIP (you'd do that this summer/fall) and do that for a summer. Even better: try to split between a firm and SLIP to hedge your bets (assuming your firm offers you a permanent gig). Honors is far from a guarantee even for those with exceptional credentials.

How competitive is SLIP compared to Honors? Am I better off transferring to a T6 from a T20 for Honors?

I wouldn't transfer just for that. DOJ hires from a really wide range of schools and often seems to privilege grades/experience over pedigree - top at your T20 would probably be a better position than no grades at the T6. (Though it may depend a little on the component).

[Anonymous User]

For any Honors attorney's going through the background check process - has anyone else had the interview? Also, has anyone received any notice about the status of their drug test?

[Anonymous User]

For any Honors attorney's going through the background check process - has anyone else had the interview? Also, has anyone received any notice about the status of their drug test?

Main Justice/DC location/Large Component. I had my FBI interview (and it seems like the investigator has contacted all of my relevant references already). I have not been contacted about a drug test, yet.

[Anonymous User]

This is my timeline for last year DOJ Honors:

Eqip submit - 1/17
Finger print - 2/17
Subject Interview - Late 4/17
Drug test - 6/17
Background investigation complete - 7/17
Adjudicated - 9/17 (couple days before EOD)

[Anonymous User]

Incoming honors hire. This is what my timeline has looked like so far:

Late Dec.: Submitted eqip and other paperwork

March: Completed drug test and never heard anything (I assume no news is good news in this case)

April: Did FBI interview; several references were contacted by the FBI, but not all. It really depends on the local agent assigned to your case and when they get around to contacting the folks you listed that live in their area.

May: A few more references contacted.

[Anonymous User]

My component did not receive eQip access until the end of March. I submitted in early April and have heard nothing since, though I did complete my drug test (before I submitted my eQip).

[redscare]

This is my timeline for last year DOJ Honors:

Eqip submit - 1/17
Finger print - 2/17
Subject Interview - Late 4/17
Drug test - 6/17
Background investigation complete - 7/17
Adjudicated - 9/17 (couple days before EOD)

Do they contact you to let you know that your background investigation was completed and finally adjudicated?

[Anonymous User]

What component are you all in? I am in EOIR, my eQip was March, and I was told to expect contact for my drug test date soon. Does EOIR do an FBI interview? That sounds nerve-racking during bar prep...

[Nosso]

What component are you all in? I am in EOIR, my eQip was March, and I was told to expect contact for my drug test date soon. Does EOIR do an FBI interview? That sounds nerve-racking during bar prep...

I'm in a litigating component; since EOIR is so huge, they may do things differently. My FBI interview was extremely low key. They just go over the form with you to make sure that nothing has changed and to ensure accuracy. They're not trying to grill you or trick you. There's no reason to stress over it.

[Anonymous User]

What component are you all in? I am in EOIR, my eQip was March, and I was told to expect contact for my drug test date soon. Does EOIR do an FBI interview? That sounds nerve-racking during bar prep...

I'm in a litigating component; since EOIR is so huge, they may do things differently. My FBI interview was extremely low key. They just go over the form with you to make sure that nothing has changed and to ensure accuracy. They're not trying to grill you or trick you. There's no reason to stress over it.

Mine for ATR was also low key. I had to answer a few supplemental Q's. I filled out the SF85 in December, and its been revised since then, and I think they wanted me to certify for the revised answers.

[Nosso]

Does DOJ reimburse for bar dues? I'm guessing not, but it looks like some agencies do. https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/Pro ... QandAs.pdf

[Anonymous User]

Does DOJ reimburse for bar dues? I'm guessing not, but it looks like some agencies do. https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/Pro ... QandAs.pdf

Nope. You may well get your CLEs covered through department training though.

[Anonymous User]

For past honors hires- how do they contact you to either let you know that you've passed or failed your background check?

[Anonymous User]

For past honors hires- how do they contact you to either let you know that you've passed or failed your background check?

I never got told when I passed, they just contacted me to set up my start date.