The work of the office provides legal advice, counsel, and services with respect to issues that arise in connection with the programs, activities, and operations of the Peace Corps. Legal Interns will join a team of highly dedicated and exceptionally skilled attorneys who are committed to the Peace Corps' mission of promoting world peace and friendship. *This internship is for the Fall 2024 semester

Duties

This position is established as a Legal Student Intern (Legal Intern) at Peace Corps Headquarters, in Washington DC and assigned to the Office of General Counsel (OGC). OGC provides legal advice, counsel, and services with respect to the full range of issues that arise in connection with the programs, activities, and operations of the Peace Corps, including: Providing written and verbal opinions; Consulting and negotiating with persons inside and outside the federal government; Drafting and reviewing legislation, regulations, international agreements, and other legal documents and policy statements; Representing the Peace Corps in litigation and administrative proceedings; Liaising with other federal agencies on legal matters; Engaging with foreign legal systems and attorneys regarding criminal and civil matters; and Managing the agency's Peace Corps Manual revision process and public rule making. The Legal Intern will be expected to provide support to the legal staff with respect to the functions listed above. Such support may include legal research, drafting legal memoranda and correspondence, researching legislative history, assisting in discovery and trial preparation, coordinating responses to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act, helping to coordinate a variety of OGC program activities, and performing assigned administrative functions for OGC.

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by 08/23/2024 (the closing date of this announcement). Qualification claims will be subject to verification. You must have been accepted for enrollment or be enrolled and seeking a degree in a qualifying educational institution on a full or halftime basis. If you are a student from a university that does not allow participation in paid internship programs, you will be required to provide a letter from your school verifying that you are not allowed to be paid while in the program. Additionally, you will be required to sign a letter of exemption that you will not be paid while participating in the program. Applicants must be current law students: Students must be returning to school immediately following the internship to qualify for the program. In addition, students must provide an official transcript with their application confirming enrollment status. An individual enrolled in school and receiving credit toward their degree for participating in the Student Internship Program is also considered a student. Have a minimum 3.0 GPA: If the school does not issue Grade Point Averages (GPAs), please work with your registrar office to understand the markings associated with each course on your transcript to use the GPA Calculation Table. Note: a GPA must be entered for your application to be complete and for you to be considered. FP-04 - Applicants must have completed or will have completed 2 full academic years of law school for consideration at the FP-4 grade level. You must attach your transcripts (Official or Unofficial) for verification. OR eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement* provision, as defined in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual for Qualification Standards. FP-05 -Applicants must have completed 1 full academic years of law school for consideration at the FP-5 grade level. You must attach your transcripts (Official or Unofficial) for verification. *Superior Academic Achievement (Bachelor's degree) - In the upper one-third of graduating class; OR a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0, as recorded on official transcript, or based on courses completed during final 2 years of curriculum; OR a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of 4.0, based on average of required courses completed in major or required courses in major completed during the final 2 years of curriculum. Academic Year Clarification: At the undergraduate level, 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours is comparable to 1 year of undergraduate education. When academic credit is expressed in units or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the institution. At the graduate level (education above a bachelor's), one year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full time study requirement for GS-07. And 36 semester hours for 2 years of full-time study should be considered as satisfying the GS-09 requirement. When academic credit is expressed in units or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the institution. Additional information on qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/

Education

Undergraduate and Graduate Education:

Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree, in an accredited college or university, meets the GS-5 level requirements for many positions. One full academic year of graduate-level education is creditable for GS-7; 2 years or a master's or equivalent graduate degree is creditable for GS-9; and 3 years or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree is creditable for GS-11.

Transcripts must be submitted with your application

Superior Academic Achievement S.A.A. (S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. The full provision for Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) is described in the OPM General Schedule Operating Manual.

1. Class standing--Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)--Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society--Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed in the Association of College Honor Societies: Booklet of Information (1992-95) and/or Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (1991). Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the following list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. (UNOFFICIAL OR OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Contacts

• Address Office of the Director 1275 First St. NE Washington, DC 20002 US
• Name: Peace Corps Jobs
• Email: [email protected]