Attorney Honors Program

Honors.Program@fcc.gov

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Fall 2025 Application Window Runs October 11, 2024 to November 21, 2024

The Federal Communications Commission’s Attorney Honors Program is a two-year employment and training program designed to introduce selected candidates to the field of communications law and policy. Honors Attorneys quickly gain valuable experience and benefit from a wide variety of learning experiences. Attorneys at the FCC draft decisions in adjudicatory and rulemaking matters, work with internal and external constituencies to resolve complex policy issues before the agency, participate in international negotiations, represent the FCC in dealings with other government agencies, Congress and the private sector, and defend FCC decisions in the federal courts. Additionally, Honors Attorneys benefit from a specialized training and career-development curriculum designed specifically for the program.

All positions for the Attorney Honors Program are located at the FCC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Specific placements within the agency will be based on the participant’s interests and experience and the needs of the FCC. Honors Attorneys may have the opportunity to rotate to a new placement within the agency after their first year. At the end of the two-year program, Honors Program attorneys will be eligible for consideration for continued employment at the FCC.

Selection Criteria

Selection for the Attorney Honors Program is highly-competitive, and the FCC reviews many facets of a candidate's background, including academic achievement, writing skills, law review and/or moot court experience, clinic or extracurricular activities, and an interest in government service and/or the communications sector.

Eligibility for Fall 2025

You are eligible to apply during the fall application window for the 2025 Attorney Honors Program if you are a:

  • Current law student who will graduate in the spring or summer of 2025;
  • Graduate law student who will complete your course of study by the summer of 2025;
  • Federal, state, or municipal judicial clerk serving during the 2024-25 judicial term; or
  • Recent law student who graduated in the spring or summer of 2024.

How to Apply

The FCC will continue online application submission using the FCCJobs web-based recruitment system, which integrates with the Office of Personnel Management’s USAJOBS website.

Interested persons should apply via USAJOBS to Vacancy Announcement: HonorsAtty-OGC-2025-001.

Submission of the following documents is required for consideration:  a cover letter, resume, official or unofficial law school transcript, writing sample (of not more than 15 pages), and a list of three professional references (phone and email addresses). 

  • To expedite processing of your application, please save each of the required documents as a separate PDF file, with your last name as part of the file name.
  • Please review your application materials carefully; we are unable to accommodate edits to your application once it is submitted. 
  • All applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 21, 2024. For ease of reference, the deadline for other main U.S. time zones is: 10:59 p.m. Central Time, 9:59 p.m. Mountain Time, and 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time.   Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Selected applicants may be invited for interviews. The FCC reviews applications as quickly as possible. Our typical review and selection process involves both interviews and reference checks.

Participants who enter the fall 2025 class will be expected to begin their employment with the agency by September 2025.

More Information

Bureau/Office:
General Counsel
Updated:
Friday, October 11, 2024