STUDENT TRAINEE (LAW CLERK)

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below for IMPORTANT additional information. The primary purpose of this position is to provide a student trainee who has been appointed to the Pathways Program with on-the-job training and guidance to further student technical development in law.

Duties

1. With supervision, performs tasks that are developmental and recurring in nature that require application of basic occupational field theory and principles in the technical area of legal services.
2. With supervision, conducts investigations to obtain evidentiary data and recommend an agency course of action.
3. With guidance, drafts, negotiates, or examines contracts or other legal documents required by the agency's activities.
4. Works closely with senior attorneys, assists in the performance of legal research, analysis of legal decisions, opinions, ruling, memoranda, and other legal decisions, prepares/writes digests of points of law involved.

Salary

• $43,106 - $56,039/year

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• Males must be registered for Selective Service, see Legal and Regulatory Guide
• Must be at least 16 years of age
• Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid
• Must currently be enrolled at least half-time course load as defined by the education institution (typically six hours or equivalent for undergraduate and three hours or equivalent for graduate) at a qualifying accredited institution.
• Must meet suitability requirements for Federal employment
• Must be eligible to work under U.S. immigration laws
• May be required to travel by military and/or civilian aircraft in the performance of official duties
• Position is established under the provisions of the Pathways Program
• Employee must meet and maintain qualification standards for position
• Disclosure of Political Appointments
• Graduate Level Education at an American Bar Association Approved Law School is desired
• Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.
• Must have a good academic standing (no less than 2.5 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 grading scale)
• 120-Day Register: This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.
• Must be able to work for 8-10 consecutive weeks in the Summer 2027
• Salary will be adjusted in locality depending on the selected geographic location

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Competitive Service Student Trainee Positions

QUALIFICATION: All applicants must have completed at least 1 full academic year of graduate level education (e.g., law school) or Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) Provision and completion of a bachelor's degree. You must submit your transcripts.

Required Documents:
Resume
Unofficial Transcripts (undergraduate & law school)
Proof of school enrollment/class registration (i.e. law school transcript or enrollment letter)
Motivational Statement (limited to 1 page)
Online Application (Questionnaire) completed in USAJobs.gov
Geographic Preferences Memorandum

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. Knowledge and understanding of diverse legal issues.
2. Ability to communicate legal issues and principles effectively orally and in writing.
3. Skill in conduction thorough legal research on a variety of issues.
4. Skill in properly analyzing facts and legal questions.
5. Skill in conducting a proper legal investigation to obtain facts.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education This position has an education requirement. You MUST provide transcripts or Official Letter of Enrollment to support your educational claims.. An accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education must accredit education. Click here to check accreditation. FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here to check. Other Information Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible click here. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated in the "Highly Qualified" or "Best Qualified" Category on the rating criteria for this vacancy. You must submit a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location. Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click here for more information. Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: MSP applicants, if determined best qualified, must be selected, and placed at the highest grade for which they applied. You must include a completed copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for MSP. Click here to obtain/download a copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist. Temporary and Term Appointments: If you are selected for a temporary or term position in the competitive service, your appointment may be extended to the maximum period allowed by law without further competition. Additionally, if you are serving on a term appointment in the competitive service, you may be converted to a career or career-conditional appointment without further competition. NOTE: Current Federal Civilian employees may apply for temporary and term positions and if selected, a break in service may be required prior to appointment to the position. Disabled veteran leave is available to a Federal employee hired on/after 5 Nov 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. For more information, click here. If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here. For information on veteran's preference click here. 120-DAY COMPETITIVE CERTIFICATE: This vacancy announcement may be used to fill like vacancies for 120-days from the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as/if additional vacancies occur during this period. Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility you are claiming. Click here to view the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide and the required documents.

1. Online Application: Questionnaire
2. Resume: Your resume may NOT exceed two pages, and the font size should not be smaller than 10 pts. You will not be considered for this vacancy if your resume is illegible/unreadable. Additional information on resume requirements can be located under "How To Apply".
3. Transcripts/Registration: If position requires education, you must submit copies of your transcripts and if required for the position, submit an active, current registration.
4. Veterans: If claiming 30% Disabled Veteran or Veteran's Preference - Submit VOW certification memo or copy of the official DD-Form 214, which must include the character of service (i.e., with an honorable or general discharge). This will be annotated in block 24 on member copy 2, 4, or 7 of the DD-Form 214. If claiming 30% Disabled Veteran, you must also submit a VA Letter or a disability determination from a branch of the Armed Forces. NOTE: All veterans claiming 10-point preference must also submit a SF-15.
5. DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: You must include a copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for MSP. Click here to obtain a copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist.

ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: The VOW Act requires federal agencies to treat an eligible active-duty service member as a veteran, disabled veteran, and preference eligible (as applicable) when applying for civil service positions before the effective release or discharge date. Appointment of military members before the release or discharge date is permissible if the member is on terminal leave. At the time the active- duty member applies for a civil position, he or she must submit a "certification" memo in lieu of a DD-Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Active-duty members applying for a civil service position without submitting a valid certification memo or DD-Form 214 with their application will render the member ineligible for the position. The certification memo must originate from the member's military service branch on official letterhead and contain the following:

• Name/Rank/Grade of Service Member
• Branch of Armed Forces
• Dates of Active Service (Start and End Date(s)
• Expected Date of Discharge/Release from Active Duty
• Terminal leave start date (if applicable)
• Expected character of service/discharge and type of separation (i.e. separation or retirement)
• Must be certified within 120 days of anticipated discharge
• Signature by, or by direction of the adjutant, personnel office, unit commander, or higher headquarters commander.

Note: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If appointed, a DD Form-214 must be submitted upon receipt.

How to Apply

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/16/2026

To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13103858

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the application questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Application button at the end of the process.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your Resume. If you submit more than one resume, only the most recent will be reviewed. The "most recent" is considered the resume with the latest timestamp.

• Resumes may not exceed two pages. The two-page resume ensures the most relevant experience is reviewed and considered, which is a common practice in both the public and private sectors. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Additional information on how to complete or update your resume may be located here.
• For qualification determination your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient, and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Current Federal Civilian Employees may list any relevant performance related rating (given within the last three years) and/or incentive awards in your resume.
• Do NOT include photographs, inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. If the resume you submit contains such information you will not be considered for this vacancy.
• Your name, first and last, MUST be included on your resume.

2. A complete Application Questionnaire
3. Additional Required Documents (see Required Documents section). Ensure all submitted documents contain your full name.
4. Help recruiters find you. Make your resume and profile searchable, which means recruiters may contact you about possible jobs. Additional information may be located here.


PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. You can access your USAJOBS account to do so by clicking here. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.

Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.