U.S Department of Housing & Urban Development Legal Honors Program

HUD’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) Legal Honors Program is OGC’s primary hiring program for entry- level attorneys.

Candidates will be selected for a job assigned to one of the official duty stations listed in this announcement. Failure to report to duty at the location for which the candidate is selected may be grounds for a disciplinary action, including removal.

HUD’s Legal Honors Program is designed for law students graduating from J.D. and LLM programs, and recent law school graduates completing a judicial clerkship. The Legal Honors Program is HUD’s only hiring program for entry-level attorneys.

Legal Honors are assigned either to Headquarters or a Regional Office. During the program, all Legal Honors are given the opportunity to complete rotations across OGC functions. Rotations may include: Assisted Housing, Community Development, Fair Housing, Insured Housing, Legislations and Regulations, Litigation, Mortgage Backed Securities, Personnel and Ethics, Procurement Law, Program Enforcement, and Real Estate and transactional work. Legal Honors will receive their permanent work placement upon successful completion of the 14-month appointment and bar admission.

Legal Honors are assigned mentors, receive training, and participate in monthly discussions to enhance their experience and professional development.

The target position upon conversion is a GS-0905-12 Trial Attorney or Attorney Advisor with a full performance level of GS-905-14. However, conversion is not mandatory or guaranteed.

The program is highly competitive and candidates are selected on the basis of merit. Selection considerations include many factors such as: academic achievement; law review and other publication work; extracurricular activities such as moot court competitions and legal clinics; employment history; and participation in activities related to HUD’s mission.

Additional information regarding the legal honors law clerk program can be found at: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/general_counsel/legalhonorsprogram