DOJ Law Clerk Recruitment 2026

Initial Posting Date:

12/09/2025

Application Deadline:

01/13/2026

Agency:

Department of Justice

Salary Range:

$20.47-$22.24

Position Type:

Employee

Position Title:

DOJ Law Clerk Recruitment 2026

Job Description:

The Department of Justice

The mission of the Oregon Department of Justice is to serve state government and to support safe and healthy communities throughout Oregon by providing essential justice services. Its more than 1,600 employees in ten divisions, including more than 400 lawyers, are dedicated to the rule of law and serving the people of Oregon and its government. 

The Attorney General and our ten divisions are dedicated to:

• Providing ethical, independent and high quality legal services to state government;
• Safeguarding consumers from fraud and unfair business practices;
• Fighting crime and helping crime victims;
• Advocating for vulnerable children;
• Supporting families through the collection of child support; 
• Enforcing environmental protections;
• Defending the civil rights of all Oregonians;
• Pursuing justice and upholding the rule of law. 

Duties & Responsibilities

The Oregon Department of Justice is seeking outstanding, current first- and second-year law students to fill law clerk positions beginning May 2026. Positions are located in Salem, Portland, Eugene, and Medford and will be full-time during the summer positions with the hope that the successful candidates will consider continuing employment on a part-time basis throughout the following school year. Many clerks are encouraged to stay with the Department until graduation.

Law students are employed to provide legal support to Assistant Attorneys General. The volume and scope of our legal work allow us to entrust each law clerk with a significant level of responsibility, which helps ensure clerks stay engaged and facilitates growth and career development. Assignments can vary depending on division and section placement, business need, and the individual strengths and interests of a given law clerk. Attorneys-in-Charge or designated law clerk supervisors assign law clerks to work with individual mentor attorneys on a case-by-case basis. A clerk may have the opportunity to perform the following assignments:

• conducting library and legal research and delivering written legal analysis or oral briefing;
• assisting with civil, criminal, juvenile, or administrative litigation;
• appearing in court on behalf of a state agency (for court certified law students);
• investigating factual matters and producing a written product (The final result may be used by the supervising attorney as background, or it may be incorporated as part of an opinion, pleading, memorandum, or brief.);
• projects that take anywhere from minutes to months;
• working for one or multiple attorneys and balancing workload;
• case organization and strategy assessments; and,
• all manner of other assignments, as they come up in the Department's work.

When court-certified, law clerks in some sections appear in court, argue motions, and present evidence including examination of witnesses. 

Pay for law clerks does not include benefits, except as required by law. The term of appointment usually is three months over the summer and continuing for the next nine months, the remainder of the school year, and is subject to extension, but is statutorily subject to termination at any time without cause. Clerks are expected to work full, 40-hour weeks during the summer months. Arrangements can be made to allow a vacation, but the Department expects a minimum commitment of at least ten weeks during the summer. Clerks are generally expected to work up to 20 hours per week on average during the school year. Time off is allowed during finals, and those who remain in the geographic area during school vacations can work full-time to make up for time missed during finals. Exceptions can be granted to allow for more than 20 hours per week during the school year if a business need exists, budget allows, and the additional hours are not likely to negatively impact the clerk's studies.

Many divisions prefer clerks who will work during both the summer, and appointments may be made contingent upon continued availability of the clerk during the and succeeding school year.

Depending on the assigned legal division, there may be opportunities for some remote work. Finalists must reside in the state of Oregon by the first day of employment.

Conduct Expectations

The role of the Oregon Department of Justice is to provide justice and uphold the rule of law. Employees of the Department are required to meet the highest standards of professional conduct, confidentiality, and ethics while on the job, and also to maintain those same high standards when taking actions in their personal lives that could reflect on the Department.

Required

• You must be a current first- or second-year law student enrolled in an accredited Law School.

Applicants most closely matching the requirements and needs of the positions will be invited to interview.

Application Process

To apply for this position:

• Follow the "Apply" link above and complete the application online and all supplemental questions;
• Attach your resume (1-2 pages);
• Attach your cover letter (1-2 pages) explaining why you are interested in working for the Oregon Department of Justice AND your work or personal history that makes you a good candidate;
• Attach your writing sample (3-5 pages), one that is not heavily edited and helps to illustrate your writing and analysis; and,
• Attach your Law School transcript (if available). Transcripts do not need to be an official copy, and they may follow this application by email before the application deadline if not immediately available.

ALL APPLICANTS: IMPORTANT! You will only have one opportunity to upload the required materials. Drag and drop all documents into Workday when prompted to upload your resume. If you are concerned that one or more required documents didn't attach to your application, if you need an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), have questions, or need assistance with the application process, please contact doj.recruitment@doj.oregon.gov. Any materials emailed will be associated on your behalf if received before the posting deadline.

CURRENT STATE EMPLOYEES: Login to Workday using your state-issued login and apply via the Jobs Hub Worklet located on your home page. Using a private account disrupts the hiring process for all internal candidates.

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Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The Department of Justice is an equal opportunity employer, does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, veteran, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability, and is committed to workplace diversity.

DOJ Law Clerk Conflicts Policy (in part)

Law clerks, like all DOJ employees, must follow DOJ policy on conflicts of interest.  In general, this means that they must not work on matters on which they have a personal or professional conflict, as defined by DOJ policy and the Oregon State Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct.  Incoming clerks should be prepared to provide a list of potential conflicts to their supervisor, including a list of all prior work on matters where the State of Oregon, state agencies, or state officials were involved as the opposing party.  Depending on the nature of the clerk’s conflict, they may need to be screened from participation in matters on which they have a conflict. It is the DOJ's policy, not to employ any law clerk at the same time that the clerk is employed by or volunteers for:

(a) a private law firm; 

(b) public defender's office; 

(c) the legislature; 

(d) the judiciary; 

(e) a school-sponsored legal clinic that either directly or through association with a third party, such as a public defender's office, routinely handles criminal or civil cases in which the state is an adverse party; or 

(f) the Court Appointed Special Advocate for children (CASA) program.

The following legal employment outside DOJ is generally permitted simultaneously with employment by the DOJ as a law clerk, on a case-by-case basis:

(a) an internship with the Governor's office; or 
(b) a school-sponsored legal clinic that does not routinely handle criminal or civil matters in which the state is an adverse party.  This includes clinics that handle criminal matters of a sufficiently local nature as to not involve the state as a party.  In any event, the law clerk cannot participate in those civil or criminal matters in which either the state is an adverse party or a state officer appears as a witness or as a prosecutor.

Exceptions to the policy, on a case-by-case basis, may be allowed.  All DOJ law clerks must sign a statement that they understand these limits on their employment while at DOJ and their personal responsibility not to disclose or use confidential information gained through their present or previous employment or activities. For the entire DOJ Law Clerks Conflicts policy click HERE.
 

For additional information regarding working for the Department of Justice and application assistance, click HERE and click HERE.

 
Oregon Department of Justice
Human Resources Department
1162 Court St NE
Salem OR, 97301
DOJ.recruitment@doj.oregon.gov
Phone: (503) 947-4328
Fax: (503) 373-0367