The U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel (OGC), is seeking applications for its 2027 Attorney Honors Program. Honors Attorneys at the U.S. Department of Commerce provide legal advice and counsel to help the Department meet its strategic goals in its broad mission to promote U.S. commerce at home and abroad. To be eligible for our next program starting in September/October 2027, you must be a U.S. citizen graduating from law school in Spring 2027 or a recent law school graduate completing a judicial clerkship or fellowship in Summer 2027.

The Department of Commerce’s mission is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities. Through its 13 bureaus, the Department works to drive U.S. economic competitiveness, strengthen domestic industry, and spur the growth of quality jobs in all communities across the country. The Department serves as the voice of business in the Federal Government, and at the same time, the Department touches and serves every American every day.

OGC provides legal services to the Secretary of Commerce and across the Department’s numerous bureaus and activities. The General Counsel is the chief legal officer for the Department.  The mission of OGC is to have a lasting impact on rules of commerce that revitalize the economy and lay a foundation for sustainable U.S. leadership in a global economy in the 21st century. OGC seeks to be a leader in building a culture of excellence, service, and creative collaboration within its offices and across the Department, providing legal support, strategy, and analysis for a wide range of complex, cutting-edge issues.  Innovation, economic security, and national security are deeply intertwined, and all rely on a resilient domestic industrial base, an effective innovation ecosystem, and strategic global engagement. 

The Attorney Honors Program offers new law graduates and recent law graduates completing judicial clerkships or fellowships a unique opportunity to complete a two-year rotational program before being assigned to a permanent position in one of OGC’s many practice areas. Six-month rotational opportunities will provide each Honors Attorney with substantive and challenging assignments and broad exposure to Commerce’s diverse mission and the work of a Cabinet-level agency. On each rotation, Honors Attorneys will work in one of nearly two dozen programmatic and administrative legal offices, including:

Office of the Deputy General Counsel for Administration: 

Employment Litigation and Information (ELI) is responsible for all litigation brought by or against the Department and oversees matters involving information law. The office is comprised of three divisions: the Employment and Labor Law Division, the General Litigation Division, and the Information Law Division. 
 
Ethics Law and Program (ELP) is accountable for administration of Commerce's government ethics program. This encompasses all bureaus and offices. The primary mission is to prevent conflicts of interest arising for Commerce personnel, through rigorous training, financial disclosure reviews, and advice and counsel activities. ELP supports departmental risk mitigation and provides support related to guidance on the Hatch Act. Common guidance areas include financial and personal conflicts of interest, outside activities, gifts, and post-employment restrictions. 
 
Legislation and Regulation (L&R) manages the Department's legislative and regulatory legal functions. L&R oversees the Department's legislative review process, reviews and clears rulemaking proposals prepared by bureaus and offices, and serves as the Department's liaison with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on legislative and regulatory matters. The office consists of the Legislative Division and the Regulatory Division. 
 
Office of Accountability (OA) is responsible for ensuring that the Department maintains the highest standards of performance and conduct across its 40,000+ person workforce. OA attorneys investigate instances of serious misconduct and poor performance and initiate appropriate corrective action. OA attorneys work on high-profile, sensitive personnel matters that threaten the Department's mission.

Transactions and Program Management's (TPM) three divisions provide legal services and guidance to the Department's senior leadership and bureau program offices regarding procurement, real property, financial assistance, interagency, and other special agreement transactions with outside parties and represents the Department in any litigation arising from procurement and real property matters. The office also provides legal advice on areas of environmental compliance and regulation, and general administrative law and agency operations not covered by other components of OGC, including fiscal law, trademark and copyright law, directives management and delegations of authority, personal property law, and travel and transportation law, among other issues.

Chief Counsel Offices: 

Commercial Law Development Program’s (CLDP) mission is to advance U.S. business interests and national security objectives around the world by providing technical assistance, advisory services, and sector planning support to improve the legal and regulatory conditions for trade and investment. 

Office of the Chief Counsel for Economic Affairs (OCC-EA) provides legal advice to the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs (OUS/EA) and supports OUS/EA’s efforts to maintain the highest possible quality Federal statistical system, communicate a vision of the key forces at work in the economy and the opportunities these forces create for improving the well-being of all Americans, and support the information and analytical needs of the Department and the Executive Branch. OCCEA also advises and counsels OUS/EA’s primary operating units - the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of the Census - as these bureaus gather statistics, ensure confidentiality, and produce accurate and timely reports on economic and social change for the benefit of the United States public, business, and all levels of government. 

Office of the Chief Counsel of the Economic Development Administration (OCC-EDA) serves the legal needs of EDA, the agency that leads the Federal economic development agenda by making strategic grants-based investments. OCC-EDA provides counsel on all EDA program-related matters, including pre-and post-approval project reviews and grant property management issues. 

Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement & Compliance (CC-TEC) is the principal legal advisor to Enforcement & Compliance (E&C), a unit within the International Trade Administration, regarding legal issues that arise during antidumping (discriminatory pricing) and countervailing duty (foreign government subsidization) administrative proceedings.  CC-TEC also defends E&C’s trade remedy determinations before federal courts (specifically, the Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), USMCA panels, and in WTO dispute settlement proceedings.  CC-TEC is also involved in negotiations involving trade remedies, as well as issues related to trade in steel in fora such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  The office also provides legal advice to the steel and aluminum import licensing programs and the U.S. Foreign Trade Zones program, among other areas. 

Office of the Chief Counsel for Industry and Security (OCC-IS) provides legal support to the Department of Commerce, particularly the Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), including BIS’s Export Administration, Export Enforcement, and Information and Communications Technology and Services offices. BIS’s mission is to protect the security of the United States, which includes its national security, economic security, cyber security, and homeland security. 

Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce (OCC-IC) provides legal support to the Department of Commerce, particularly the Department's International Trade Administration (ITA), including ITA’s three business units, Enforcement and Compliance, Global Markets, and Industry and Analysis. The mission of ITA is to create prosperity by strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promoting trade and investment, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements.   

Office of the Chief Counsel for National Institute of Standards and Technology (OCC-NIST) supports NIST, which is directly related to advancing the scientific and technical capabilities of the commercial infrastructure of the United States.  Legal services performed in support of management are related to intellectual property management and scientific research management. The office also provides legal service to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). 

Office of the Chief Counsel for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (OCC-NTIA) is responsible for the development and administration of the NTIA legal program.  NTIA is the Executive Branch agency that is principally responsible by law for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for continued innovation and economic growth.  OCC-NTIA provides programmatic legal advice to the Administrator, Deputy Administrator and all components of NTIA with regard to the powers, duties, and responsibilities of NTIA and its relationship with other government departments and agencies (particularly the Federal Communications Commission), Congress, business, industry, and private organizations, and the development and administration of NTIA policies and programs. 

Office of the Chief Counsel for Semiconductor Incentives (OCC-SI) provides advice and assistance to the CHIPS Program Office (CPO) within the Department. The CPO’s mission is to catalyze long-term growth in the domestic semiconductor industry to support our national and economic security. The CPO operates the CHIPS for America Semiconductor Incentives program, which will finance major semiconductor manufacturing and related facilities through a combination of grants, loan, loan guarantees, and other transactions. 

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility is limited to graduating law students and recent law school graduates who entered judicial clerkships, graduate law programs, or qualifying legal fellowships within 9 months of law school graduation. To be eligible for our next program starting in September/October 2027, you must be a U.S. citizen graduating from law school in Spring 2027 or completing a judicial clerkship or fellowship in Summer 2027.

How to Apply

• Provide a cover letter, resume, law school transcript (official or unofficial), and writing sample to [email protected] with the subject line: Attorney Honors Program-[LAST NAME].  
• The application opens on July 27, 2026, and closes on September 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
• Any questions or requests for an accommodation in order to complete the application should be directed to  [email protected]
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