Description:
Each year, the NRC selects a small number of graduating law students or judicial law clerks to serve in the Office of the General Counsel's (OGC's) Honor Law Graduate Program (HLGP). Established in 1972, the HLGP is the primary mechanism for hiring entry-level attorneys at the NRC. As an Honor Law Graduate, you will serve in a two-year program consisting of rotational assignments through different OGC divisions in order to gain broad exposure to the diverse legal practice at the NRC.
Requirements:
In order to qualify for the Honor Law Graduate Program, you must meet the qualification criteria listed below. Please read carefully to determinate the grade at which you would qualify based on your education and specialized experience:
GG-11 :
- A third-year law student (3L) at an American Bar Association accredited law school who will earn a J.D. degree no later than June of the 2025-2026 academic year; or
- a graduate of American Bar Association-accredited law school who will earn an LL.M. degree no later than June of the 2025-2026 academic year;
or- a J.D degree and current judicial law clerk or licensed attorney with less than one year of judicial law clerk or attorney experience within 30 days of the closing date of the vacancy announcement; and
- Be in at least the upper thirty percent (30%) of your law school class and/or have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least a 3.25 based on a scale of 4.0. NOTE: If your law school does not calculate class rank, and also does not provide traditional grades or a GPA, you should include a link to the school’s grading policy and should provide a narrative explanation of how your law school performance correlates with our requirements.
Specialized experience includes educational, academic, or work related experiences in nuclear energy law, NRC practice, environmental law, government contracts, employment law, labor relations, information law, federal administrative procedure, or regulatory law.
GG-12:
- a J.D. degree; or
- an LL.M. degree; and
- a current judicial law clerk or licensed attorney with a minimum of one year of judicial law clerk experience or attorney experience within 30 calendar days of the closing date of the vacancy announcement; and
- Be in at least the upper thirty percent (30%) of your law school class and/or have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 based on a scale of 4.0. NOTE: If your law school does not calculate class rank, and also does not provide traditional grades or a GPA, you should include a link to the school’s grading policy and should provide a narrative explanation of how your law school performance correlates with our requirements.
Specialized experience includes educational, academic, or work related experiences in nuclear energy law, NRC practice, environmental law, government contracts, employment law, labor relations, information law, federal administrative procedure, or regulatory law.
Admission to the Bar is not a prerequisite to applying and being considered for the Honor Law Graduate Program, but is expected during the first year of NRC employment. Recent law school graduates who join the NRC before Bar examination results are available will provide evidence of Bar membership as soon as possible after admission. Selectees who are not admitted to the bar within 2 years may be separated from the NRC.
The ideal candidate for this position will be able to demonstrate the following:
- Experience in nuclear energy law, NRC practice, environmental law, government contracts, employment law, labor relations, information law, federal administrative procedure, or regulatory law.
- Ability to perform legal analysis and communicate the results of that analysis orally and in writing (evidenced by relevant employment experience or internships, academic achievement, or extracurricular law school activities).
- Ability to perform legal analysis and communicate the results of that analysis in writing as evidence by an unedited writing sample.