Identifying Potential Government Employers
There are several different types of legal jobs within both Federal and State Governments. Because government agencies are required to make a lot of information public, it can be easy to find information about government employers, however, it can also be difficult to sift through all of the information available to find what is important.
Locating District Attorneys and Public Defenders
District attorney and public defender jobs can vary widely depending on their geographic location. A DA or PD job in a small county will be very different from one in a large city. Your first step is to locate where you might want to practice and search for DA or PD offices in those areas. A good place to start are the Find Law District Attorney and Public Defender Directories. Also review the resources on the Defender Services Office Training Division site, which maintains a directory of Federal Public & Community Defenders, and the National District Attorneys Association.
Locating Other Government Attorneys
State and Federal Attorneys General, U.S. Attorneys, and Judge Advocate Generals comprise the other groups of attorneys for Federal and State Governments. All information about the Federal Attorney General and U.S. Attorneys can be found on the U.S. Department of Justice site. A listing of U.S. Attorneys by state can be found here. USA.gov has a State Attorneys General Directory. Each military branch has their own JAG information site which are linked individually under Additional Resources.
Locating Government Agencies
Government Agencies exist at a Federal and State Level. Within each agency there are often legal careers in several areas - enforcement, policy making, advising, among others. Get started by searching by Federal Government agencies here and State Government agencies here. Within each agency, there are often several different offices or divisions so you will need to research further within the agency to locate the different divisions where jobs are available. More resources for researching Government Agencies are listed under Additional Resources.
Researching for the Application Process
The government organization's website is one of the best places to find information for your application. For state and county district attorney, public defenders, and state attorneys general, you can try searching for state dockets on Bloomberg Law. Ask a Law Librarian for additional state docket coverage by emailing library@pennstatelaw.psu.edu. For U.S. Attorneys, there is full coverage of Federal Dockets on Bloomberg Law. Also look for press releases on the the organizations website and on local news sources for state and county information.
All Federal and State government agencies are required to make almost all of their information public so their websites will be your best resources. Research the role of the agency and their policies. Look for press releases and other media filings. Search for the agency in national, state or local news to find recent information you might want to mention in a cover letter.
Researching for the Interview
Preparing for an interview with a district attorney's office, public defender's office, or other government attorneys office will require a different strategy depending on the type of office. Government agencies have a lot of information available online, but it can be hard to sift through the volumes of information. State government agency information will be a little harder to track down.
The client base of a county DA or PD office will be much different than a city DA or PD office. Ask who you will be meeting with and then use state and county dockets via Bloomberg Law to try to find recent cases that these attorneys are handling. Check local news for any information about current or recent cases. Contact a Law Librarian at library@pennstatelaw.psu.edu for assistance with searching for state and local dockets.
You will be relying on these organization's websites to read about current initiatives and investigations. Find out who you will interview with and search Federal Court Dockets via Bloomberg Law to search for cases they have recently handled. Recent press releases and recent news about the investigations and initiatives will also be helping for identifying key cases.
With some exceptions, Government Agencies are required to make information about their work public. For all agencies, review their websites for press releases and news. Be sure to review any information specifically related to the division of the agency for which you are interviewing. For Federal Agencies, review recent activity published by agency on the Federal Register website. For state agencies, look for the administrative code bulletin or register that publishes agency initiatives and review recent initiatives for the agency for which you are interviewing.
Additional Resources
General Resources
District Attorney and Public Defender Resources
Other Government Attorney Resources
Government Agency Resources
Dockets
News Sources
Federal Job Grading Information