Honors Attorney Program
Overview
The Department’s Honors Attorney Program offers new law graduates and recent law graduates completing judicial clerkships or judicial fellowships a unique opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the Department’s diverse law practice.
During the two-year program, honors attorneys complete one rotation in the Department's Office of the General Counsel and five rotations in the operating administrations' Offices of Chief Counsel. Rotations provide each honors attorney with substantive and challenging assignments across a wide spectrum of legal fields. Honors attorneys find themselves working in practice areas such as administrative, aviation, environmental, constitutional, torts, labor and employment, and contract and procurement law. Honors attorneys may assist with litigation, draft legislation, enforcement, and participate in the rulemaking process.
In addition to legal work, the honors attorneys meet weekly to discuss their work assignments, and hear from subject matter experts about a wide range of topics relevant to the practice of law at a cabinet level agency.
Honors attorneys also make site visits to gain exposure to the transportation and federal government community. In the past few years, honors attorneys have visited the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, Washington D.C.'s Union Station, automobile crash test facility at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, participated in an on-site inspection of semi-trailer trucks, and bowled at the White House bowling alley.
Honors Attorneys on a field trip to a trucking weigh station
Honors Attorneys on a Field trip at the White House bowling alley
Rotation Process
The Honors Attorney Program consists of multiple six-month rotations. Prior to the start of each rotation period, the coordinators of the Honors Attorney Program provide the honors attorneys with a list of available offices where the honors attorneys may rotate. After receiving the list, the honors attorneys meet and negotiate as a group to decide where each honors attorney will work. The process repeats itself, with different options, every four months.
Examples of Rotation Assignments
- Negotiating with railroad counsel to settle violations of railroad safety regulations.
- Meeting with state transportation stakeholders to provide guidance on implementing Federal preliminary injunctions in a Federal Highway Administration Program.
- Drafting a Motion for Summary Judgment in an employment discrimination case.
- Assisting in the development of new student policies for the U.S. Merchant Marin Marine Academy.
- Drafting special conditions for and providing legal review of multi-million-dollar infrastructure grant agreements.
- Engaging in cross-modal collaboration to draft a Notice Proposed Rulemaking or Final Rule to be published in the Federal Register.
- Briefing senior leadership on legal and policy issues associated with new and innovative technology.
Testimonials
"The Honors Attorney Program is an amazing opportunity to engage in self-discovery without the expense or heartache of choosing a field that seems highly desirable from the outside, but once fully engaged does not quite suit your personality or goals. The program provides an opportunity for exposure in many practice areas and to experience a variety of office environments. An honors attorney's decision to practice in a particular area upon completion of the program will be more informed because it is based on experience rather than theory or conjecture."
- Judy Kaleta, Deputy General Counsel
“The Department’s Honors Attorney Program attracts some of the brightest legal minds in the country and provides a unique opportunity to gain real world experience on issues affecting transportation law and policy. During my time as an Attorney Advisor and then as Chief Counsel for PHMSA, I saw the value that the Honors Attorneys brought in achieving the agency’s mission of promoting the safe transportation of energy and hazardous materials. I also had the opportunity to see many of the Honors Attorneys who served at PHMSA advance into different roles throughout the Department and elsewhere in the Federal Government. The Honors Attorney Program provides a great foundation for any lawyer interested in working on challenging issues in the public sector.”
- Keith Coyle, PHMSA Chief Counsel
"The US DOT Honors Attorney Program is the gold standard of early-career legal professional development. The two-year rotational program is unique to the Federal government and maximizes exposure to a wide variety of legal subject matters. The exploratory nature of the Program allowed me to apply my legal education on issues of national importance, explore a wider range of potential career paths, and develop my personal leadership style. Hands down, it was the best job of my law school graduating class. I found the work and the US DOT mission to be exciting, meaningful, and fulfilling. The work often involved complex legal and policy issues which often generated immediate operational impacts, Congressional awareness, public scrutiny, and judicial review. The training, experience, and relationships from the US DOT Honors Attorney are the bedrock of my legal career."
- Jay Payne, FHWA Deputy Administrator
"DOT’s Honors Attorneys Program is an exceptional opportunity to develop top tier attorneys across the modes."
- Jesse Elison, FMCSA Chief Counsel