Honors Attorney Fellowships in EPA's Seattle Office (Region 10)

On this page:

Who may apply
How to submit an application
Grade and pay
About Honors Attorney Fellowships
About Region 10's Office of Regional Counsel
Contact

Who May Apply

All students scheduled to graduate from an ABA-accredited law school, and recent graduates who are completing judicial clerkships, are eligible for the fellowship program. At the time of appointment, Fellows must be bar members, or have membership pending bar exam results of any state, U.S. territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Suitability for employment will be confirmed by a background investigation.

How to Submit an Application

Opportunities to apply for a fellowship will be announced on USAjobs.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

Cover letter explaining your interest in the fellowship.
Resume, including significant accomplishments, academic and work experience, class rank (if available), contact telephone number, and e-mail address.
Official or unofficial transcript of law school grades.
Name, address, and telephone numbers of three references, including a current or former employer and a law school professor or advisor.
Veterans Preference supporting documents, if applicable.
SF-50 for federal employees, if applicable.

Grade and Pay

A law student who has completed law school but not yet passed a bar exam will be hired as a GS-9 Law Clerk. Bar passage must occur within 14 months of appointment, at which point the position of Law Clerk will be converted to a GS-11 Attorney-Adviser.

An applicant who has one year of judicial clerk experience, from the date of bar passage to the date of appointment, will be hired as a GS-12 Attorney-Adviser. At the end of one year as a GS-11 Attorney-Adviser, promotion to a GS-12 Attorney-Adviser position may be offered without further competition.

Similarly, a GS-12 Attorney-Adviser may be offered an appointment to a GS-13 Attorney-Adviser at the end of one year without further competition. In either case, appointment to a higher grade will depend on demonstrated performance and cannot be considered guaranteed or automatic.

Relocation expenses to Seattle are not authorized. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

About Honors Attorney Fellowships

The Honors Attorney Fellowship Program is designed for recent law school graduates and recent graduates completing judicial clerkships.

Candidates with excellent academic credentials, including strong research, writing, and verbal skills and a demonstrated interest in an environmental law career/public service are encouraged to apply.

The position provides an opportunity to practice law in a leading governmental environmental organization. Fellows will be given a challenging caseload that includes enforcement and counseling legal work and will receive training and mentoring from experienced colleagues with recognized expertise.

EPA is an equal opportunity employer. Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status.

EPA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please notify the Agency. The decision granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

About Region 10's Office of Regional Counsel

With approximately 500 employees, EPA Region 10 covers the Pacific Northwest region of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, including more than 270 tribal governments.

Our Office of Regional Counsel (ORC) consists of approximately 35 attorneys who provide legal counseling and enforcement support in judicial and administrative cases, for criminal and civil matters, that are associated with the environmental programs administered by the Region.

The broad range of federal environmental laws include the Clean Water Act (CWA); Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA); Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA); Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA); Oil Pollution Act (OPA); Clean Air Act (CAA); Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA); Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund); Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

ORC attorneys also handle general law matters such as employment/labor, Indian law, information law, grants, and ethics.

Questions?

For more information about the Honors Attorney Fellowship Program in Region 10, contact Lisa Castañon (castanon.lisa@epa.gov), 206-553-0464.