U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks applications for unpaid special assistant spot (UPDATE)

Listen to this article

Wanted: an experienced Wisconsin lawyer to assist in prosecution of civil cases in the Western District court … and work for free.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is taking applications for a lawyer with at least one year of practice to take a one-year, unpaid special assistant appointment out of the federal office in Madison.

Applications are due Friday for the job which gives new meaning to the phrase “knowledge is my reward.”

John Vandreuil, U.S. attorney for the Western District, could not immediately be reached for comment on the quantity or caliber of applicants attracted to the opening.

But Clerk of Court Peter Oppeneer said he suspected the position could be an attractive option for relatively recent grads or unemployed attorneys.

“I suppose in exchange for (not being paid) it’s something good on the resume,” he said, “and if you’re not working anyway, there may be the potential to get hired.”

According to the vacancy announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the person hired cannot practice law outside of the office and is ineligible to serve if he or she has had an employment offer deferred by a law firm.

While the announcement hints at the potential for long-term employment, authorization from the U.S. Department of Justice is needed and the individual would have to apply for vacant prosecutor positions.

Unpaid judicial clerkships are common for law school students, Oppeneer said, and the special prosecutor position advertises duties associated with internships, such as legal research, drafting discovery requests and document review.

But the according to the vacancy announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the position also could involve “representing the United States as primary and/or secondary counsel in federal, state and bankruptcy court proceedings.”

Possible civil case assignments include foreclosures, bankruptcies and social security.

“It could be part of the economic times,” Oppeneer said. “With hiring freezes, this could be a way to get more work done in tough budget times.”

Jane Heymann, assistant dean for Career Services at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said her office received the job notification, but said the position likely had limited appeal.

“It’s not something a brand new graduate could do because it requires at least one year of post-graduate experience,” she said. “Since it is unpaid, full time and requires experience, I assume there will be a very limited number of people in a position to apply.”