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Practicing Law for the Office of the Legal Adviser Released by the Office of the Legal Adviser, November 1998

The Office of the Legal Adviser furnishes advice on all legal issues, domestic and international, arising in the course of the Department's work. This includes assisting Department principals and policy officers in formulating and implementing the foreign policies of the United States and promoting the development of international law and its institutions as a fundamental element of those policies.

Attorneys in the office have challenging opportunities to contribute to the development and conduct of U.S. foreign policy, to work directly with high-level U.S. and foreign officials, the Congress, and the White House staff, as well as to travel overseas. Typically, attorneys draft, negotiate and interpret international agreements, domestic statutes, Departmental regulations, Executive Orders, and other legal documents, and provide guidance on questions of international and domestic law. They represent or assist in representing the U.S. in meetings of international organizations and conferences and many United Nations programs.

Attorneys may be called on to participate in international negotiations involving a wide range of matters, such as peace initiatives, arms control discussions, international commodity agreements, consular conventions, and private law conventions on subjects like judicial cooperation and recognition of foreign judgments. They work closely with the Department of Justice in litigation in the United States and foreign countries affecting the Department's interests. In addition, the office represents the U.S. before international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice and the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, as well as in international arbitrations. In recent years, attorneys have had increasing opportunities to represent the Department in domestic courts and administrative courts for the Foreign Service Grievance Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.

The office is comprised of approximately 100 permanent attorneys and about 60 support staff, including paralegal specialists, treaty analysts, secretaries and general administrative personnel. Although all are stationed in Washington, DC, the office also staffs attorney positions in Geneva and The Hague, and on occasion provides attorneys for other overseas posts. Attorneys typically rotate assignments within the office every 2 or 3 years to broaden their experience and take on new challenges. Those who perform well can expect rapid career advancement and substantial independence and responsibility at an early stage in their career.

Organizations and Functions

The office is organized to provide direct legal support to the Department of State's various bureaus, including both regional or geographic offices (those which focus on specific areas of the world) and functional offices (those which deal with specific subject matters such as economics and business, international environmental and scientific issues, or internal management).

The Legal Adviser holds a rank equivalent to that of Assistant Secretary of State and reports directly to the Secretary of State. Four deputy Legal Advisers collectively supervise assistant Legal Advisers, who manage the individual regional and functional offices described below.

Regional Offices

The Department's regional bureaus oversee the U.S. embassies and consulates and coordinate U.S. foreign relations in their respective geographic areas. Assistant Legal Advisers supervise the attorneys who support those bureaus, dealing with such matters as protection of U.S. citizens and investments, problems in diplomatic and consular relations, interpretation and negotiation of treaties, military base rights and status of force issues, peaceful settlement of disputes, and trade matters. Among the issues and the activities which draw on the Offices's legal staff in the various regions are the following:

Office of African Affairs (L/AF): South Africa issues; decolonization and armed conflict; border questions; military facility and space tracking agreements; U.S. cooperation in developing African legal institutions; and recognition of new states and governments.

Office of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (L/EAP): U.S. commitments in East Asia and the Pacific, including ANZUS and U.S. bilateral defense treaties; U.S. military presence in Australia, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines; relations with the People's Republic of China; commercial, cultural, and other non-governmental relations with Taiwan; and U.S. policy toward Cambodia and Vietnam.

Office of European and Canadian Affairs (L/EUR): The European Union; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); trade and economic cooperation issues; the NATO alliance and defense cooperation issues; democratization and assistance to Eastern Europe and the successor states to the former Soviet Union; and U.S.-Canada boundary issues, including transboundary air and water pollution.

Office of Inter-American Affairs (L/ARA): Relations with the governments of Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean; issues concerning U.S. participation in the Organization of American States; implementation of the Panama Canal treaties; Cuba, including assets control, U.S. rights at Guantanamo, Helms-Burton Act issues; illegal migration and refugee issues; Haiti, in particular, foreign assistance issues; and domestic and international litigation relating to U.S. activities in the region.

Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (L/NESA): Problems relating to peace in the Middle East; the Multinational Force and Observers and UN peacekeeping forces; international terrorism; special legal problems frequently encountered by U.S. firms seeking to do business in or with countries of the region, including investment, boycott, and illicit payment problems; and restrictions on assistance to or conducting business with certain countries in the region.

Functional Offices

The Office of the Legal Adviser also supports the various functional bureaus of the Department which have crosscutting, worldwide responsibilities for specific program areas. A representative description of the functional offices is set forth below:

Office of Buildings and Acquisitions (L/BA): Provides legal advice and representation in the solicitation, award, and administration of Federal acquisition contracts; the acquisition and development of real property abroad; the negotiation and litigation of contract disputes; the defense of bid protests at the General Accounting Office and General Services Board of Contract Appeals; the management of government property domestically and abroad; the drafting and interpretation of Federal acquisition laws, regulations, and policies; the oversight and administration of employee associations at posts abroad; grant and cooperative agreement law, regulations, policies, and administration.

Office of Consular Affairs (L/CA): Provides legal advice and representation relating to the performance of consular functions by the Department of State; the provision of consular services to U.S. nationals abroad; the protection of U.S. nationals and their property abroad; rights of consular officers when acting in performance of their duties; entitlement to passports and administration of the passport laws; loss or acquisition of U.S. nationality; prisoner transfer agreements; international children's issues; enforcement and administration of immigration laws vis-a-vis aliens; and compliance by U.S. law enforcement officials with obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and other consular agreements.

Office of Diplomatic Law and Litigation (L/DL): Is responsible for the interpretation and application of international agreements and domestic statutes pertaining to U.S. and foreign diplomatic and consular missions and personnel, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Diplomatic Relations Act, and the Foreign Missions Act; legal issues relating to head of state immunity; legal issues relating to immunity of foreign states in the U.S., including interpretation and application of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; legal issues relating to immunity of the U.S. Government and its personnel in litigation abroad; and legal issues relating to the status of international organizations, including the UN.

Office of Economic and Business Affairs (L/EB): Provides legal assistance in international negotiations, development of U.S. policy, and the application of U.S. and international law with respect to international economic agreements (including investment, international telecommunications, civil aviation, and trade agreements); imposition of economic sanctions and foreign policy export controls; and other international financial and business issues, such as the extraterritorial application of U.S. laws, foreign debt, antitrust, and the protection of intellectual property.

Office of Educational, Cultural, and Public Affairs (L/ECP): Provides legal advice on international, educational, and cultural exchanges; protection of stolen cultural property; immunity from judicial seizure of cultural exhibitions, including relevant statutes and agreements; anti-lobbying, publicity, and propaganda statutes; and handles certain residual problems of World War II involving the gold pool, enemy assets, and looted objects.

Office of Employment Law (L/EMP): Provides legal advice and services to the Director General of the Foreign Service and the Director of Personnel, in addition to those involved in the management of the Department's human resources and labor relations; conducts hearings before EEOC, MSPB, Foreign Service Grievance Board, and supports personnel litigation in Federal courts.

Office of Human Rights and Refugees (L/HRR): Provides legal advice and support to the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Right,s and Labor. Deals with the international implementation of human rights principles and guarantees such as those in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Refugee Convention, other relevant treaties and customary international law; problems concerning legislation on military assistance; assistance from international financial institutions for states consistently violating human rights; domestic and international cases and proposals involving torture, genocide, apartheid, arbitrary detention, freedom of movement, assembly, speech, asylum, and other human rights problems.

Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes (L/CID): Provides general legal advice and representation with respect to all aspects of international claims and investment disputes, including claims under international law by the United States and U.S. nationals against foreign governments and vice versa; claims relating to expropriation and other property and investment disputes, denial of justice, wrongful death, personal injury; and espousal of claims. Negotiates lump sum settlements with foreign governments and presents claims before dispute settlement bodies, particularly claims before the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, and claims against Iraq before the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva. Covers issues from inception through settlement, including questions of domestic and international law, standards of compensation, and promotion of international dispute settlement machinery.

Office of Law Enforcement and Intelligence (L/LEI): Coordinates international extradition and promotes mutual legal assistance in criminal and other law enforcement matters; negotiates treaties; manages the international extradition caseload; coordinates U.S. and foreign criminal proceedings with foreign policy implications; assists U.S. federal and state law enforcement agencies with investigations in foreign countries; advises on proposed legislative initiatives and international agreements on anti-terrorism, narcotics matters, and other law enforcement issues; coordinates the legal/foreign aspects of illicit payments by U.S. firms; and advises on U.S. intelligence activities.

Office of Legislation and General Management (L/LM): Deals with a wide variety of internal management issues including legislation affecting the management and operations of the Department; appropriations, budget and financial management; administrative law and Department rule-making; the Department's annual regulatory agenda; domestic litigation; the Privacy Act; and the Freedom of Information Act.

Ethics Staff: Advises on the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Hatch Act, and other applicable laws, Executive Orders, and regulations and directs the financial disclosure reporting program.

Office of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (L/OES): Handles matters relating to development, negotiation, and application of international and domestic law relating to oceans, including law of the sea, maritime boundaries, maritime drug interdiction, navigation, and overflight freedoms; environment and conservation, including marine pollution, transboundary air pollution, biodiversity, ozone depletion, biotechnology, desertification, trade and environment, environmental impact assessment, endangered species, liability for environmental damage; scientific and technological affairs, including technology transfer and intellectual property rights; outer space, including the Space Station agreements; and polar affairs, including all matters related to the Antarctic Treaty system.

Office of Political-Military Affairs (L/PM): Provides legal assistance in matters relating to global military and political-military activities, base rights, and status of forces agreements; foreign military claims and suits against U.S. Armed Forces; foreign assistance programs, munitions control; arms control and disarmament; laws of war including Geneva Red Cross Conventions and The Hague Conventions and Rules; chemical and biological weapons and missile proliferation; cooperation, nuclear export activities and nuclear non-proliferation; negotiating and interpreting agreements for peaceful nuclear cooperation and related agreements; representing the executive branch before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; provides legal advice to United States participation in the International Atomic Energy Agency, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and other international meetings and activities.

Office of Private International Law (L/PIL): Deals with the development and implementation of treaties and other international efforts to unify and harmonize private law, including U.S. participation in multilateral organizations and bilateral negotiations; coordinates the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law and its specialized study groups on inter alia international business transactions, arbitration, trusts, international child abduction and intercountry adoption, international negotiable instruments and the liability of operators of transport terminals.

Office of Treaty Affairs (L/T): Advises on treaty law and procedure, including drafting, negotiating, applying, interpreting, and publishing treaties and other international agreements of the U.S.; constitutional questions including the relative powers of the President and the Congress regarding treaties and executive agreements.

Office of United Nations Affairs (L/UNA): Provides legal advice on matters related to the U.S. participation in the UN, its specialized agencies, and other international organizations; space law; human rights; international criminal tribunals; UN consideration of specific situations; international peacekeeping; the rights of women; peaceful settlement of international disputes; matters concerning the International Court of Justice and problems arising out of the presence of the UN and other international organizations in the United States.

Employment Procedures

Competition for attorney positions in the office is intense. Approximately 5-10 of the nearly 1,000 applicants for permanent employment each year are selected. New hires are drawn from 3rd-year law students, judicial clerks, and practicing attorneys from other Federal agencies and the private sector. In addition, the office hires 10 or more summer interns, as well as up to 5-10 externs annually under the work-study program (see below). Outstanding academic performance, analytical ability, writing skills, special honors or achievements, professional experience, publications, and relevant extracurricular activities are important considerations in all selections. International legal training or experience and a knowledge of a foreign language are not mandatory; the office encourages applications from persons with an interest or experience in general government work.

The office is committed to fostering a representative work force and encourages women and minorities to apply.

How To Apply

Applicants must submit a comprehensive resume which includes information about their educational background and scholastic standing, academic and other honors, professional experience, other government or military experience, publications and other relevant attributes such as language skills. A copy of the applicant's law school transcript and a list of three academic or professional references must accompany the application.

Please submit applications to:

Office of the Legal Adviser
L/EX, Room 5519
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520--6310

Application Deadlines

-- 3rd-year students -- November 1 of 3rd year
-- Judicial Clerks -- As early in the fall as possible but no earlier than 12 months before end of clerkship
-- Laterals -- Open
-- Summer Interns -- November 1 of 2nd year
-- Externs (work-study) -- For spring semester by November 1 of preceding year; for fall semester -- by May 31

Decisions on hiring (other than laterals and spring semester externs) are made in the fall on a schedule consistent with that followed by law firms.

Employment Requirements

-- Only U.S. citizens are considered for appointment as attorney-advisers.
-- All attorneys must be eligible to receive a Top Secret security clearance based on a comprehensive background investigation. The investigation usually takes 3-6 months to complete. Clearances are typically received prior to beginning employment with this office.
-- All employees of the Department of State in positions requiring a secret or higher security clearance are subject to random drug tests.
-- Attorneys in the Federal Service are required to be admitted to and maintain membership in the bar of a state, the District of Columbia, a U.S. territory or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. However, recent law school graduates may be hired prior to being admitted to the bar under a special one-time law clerk appointment limited to 14 months. Upon receipt of satisfactory evidence of bar admission, the appointment will be converted to that of attorney-adviser.
-- New attorneys initially receive 3-year appointments. At the end of that period, subject to continuing successful performance, appointments are made permanent. Prior full-time Federal service as a practicing attorney is counted toward meeting this requirement.
-- Third-year students should plan on reporting to duty no later than November 30 following graduation from law school.

On-Campus Recruiting

Attorneys from the office visit several major law schools each fall to interview interested students. Students can determine from placement offices if our recruiters will be conducting fall interviews on their campus. If no recruiter visits your campus, your application should be filed directly with the Office of the Legal Adviser.

Interviews in Washington

Because of the large number of applications and limited resources, interviews of prospective full-time candidates in Washington, DC are by invitation only. Candidates will not be reimbursed for travel expenses.

Compensation and Benefits

Attorneys are paid according to the General Schedule for Federal employees. Recent law school graduates with less than 1 year of relevant legal experience are appointed at GS-11, step 1. Candidates with at least 1 year of experience, such as judicial clerks, will be appointed at GS-12, step 1. Non-government laterals are appointed at the grade level (up to GS-15) and step that they would have earned had they joined the office directly from law school. Salary level for laterals from other Federal agencies are based on their current grade and step.

Staff attorneys who perform exceptionally well are eligible for rapid advancement through GS-15. Employees must be in grade 1 full year before being promoted to the next grade. Assistant Legal Adviser positions are under the Senior Executive Service and typically are filled competitively from among staff attorneys in the office.

Attorneys have the option to participate in comprehensive health and life insurance programs, and are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which consists of a pension program, the Thrift Savings Plan (a 401k-type savings program), and Social Security. Paid annual leave is earned at a rate of 13 days annually for the first 3 years of employment, increasing to 20 days a year through the 15th year, and 26 days a year thereafter. In addition, full-time employees earn 13 days of paid sick leave each year and there are 10 paid Federal holidays. In addition, Federal employees are covered by the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993.

Summer Intern Program

The office typically selects about 10 highly qualified 2nd-year law students to participate in its Summer Intern Program. This provides a unique opportunity for students interested in public service and foreign affairs to become acquainted with the work of the office as well as the Department (and to demonstrate their legal skills and acumen). Summer interns are normally given the same level of work as junior attorney advisers. Interns are ordinarily assigned to a primary office and a secondary office to ensure that they receive as broad an exposure as possible to the various facets of government law practice within the time allowed. In addition, interns are encouraged to take advantage of special summer programs and activities sponsored by the Department, the Federal Bar Association, the Department of Justice, and others.

The office's summer intern program is highly competitive. Outstanding academic achievement, relevant international experience and/or extracurricular activity, and demonstrated professional potential are important factors in the selection process. Consideration is given only to U.S. citizens, and participation is limited to continuing students (i.e., those who will be returning for their final year of law school). We recognize that many, if not most, 2nd-year students endeavor to divide their summers between two employers, to broaden their exposure to the practice of law; however, it has been our experience that a short internship is likely to be unsatisfactory for all concerned. Thus, we expect interns to commit to a minimum of 6 weeks of employment between May and September.

All applicants must submit a complete resume, including a law school transcript, together with a list of at least three professional references. Applications should be submitted as early as possible in the fall and must in any event be received no later than November 1 of the second year. Applications submitted without a law school transcript will not receive consideration. Successful applicants will be notified around December 15, but their participation is conditional upon eligibility for receipt of a secret-level security clearance. Interns receive appointments as Paralegal Specialists, GS-9, step 1. They are covered by Social Security, but are not eligible for health or life insurance and do not earn paid leave.

Students should be aware that all materials produced while working in the office are considered U.S. Government property and permission to use them for other purposes must be obtained from the proper authority at the Department of State. Students are subject to all requirements relating to retention or use of classified information (whether written or not) obtained in the course of employment.

Work-Study (Extern) Program

The office typically accepts up to 6 highly qualified 2nd- or 3rd-year law students as full- or part-time "work-study externs" in the fall and spring semesters. Externs receive no pay and the U.S. Government defrays none of their personal expenses.

This program provides an unparalleled opportunity for intensive involvement in a particular area of the office's work. Externs generally assume the same level of responsibility as summer interns and are expected to work between 20 and 40 hours per week, the specific hours to be agreed upon prior to employment. Externs are typically assigned to one organization, but may have the opportunity to work in several areas of the office's practice. The academic requirements of the sponsoring institution are considered in the selection of assignments and projects, but the student should expect to invest a considerable amount of personal time outside the office to accomplish projects assigned by the institution.

Externs, like interns, must be eligible to receive a secret-level security clearance. Only U.S. citizens are considered for the program. Academic excellence, relevant experience, and professional promise are important factors in the selection process. Applications for externship during the fall semester must be received no later than the preceding November 1 and for the spring semester no later than the preceding May 31 (since all externs must be continuing students, 3rd-year candidates typically are considered only for the fall semester). All applicants must submit a comprehensive resume, law school transcript, and two letters of recommendation from faculty members or officials of the sponsoring institution. Externs will be requested to provide a statement affirming that the institution permits participation in such a program.

Students should be aware that all materials produced while working in the office are considered U.S. Government property and permission to use them for other purposes must be obtained from the proper authority at the Department of State. Students are subject to all requirements relating to retention or use of classified information (whether written or not) obtained in the course of employment.

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