Unique two-year program offers recent law school graduates and newly admitted lawyers the opportunity to start their legal careers in public service

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced that the application period has opened for the newest class of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Honors Program, a two-year program that offers recent law school graduates and newly admitted lawyers the opportunity to start their legal careers in public service within the Department of Law and Public Safety.

With the program’s fourth class set to start next month, Honors Program attorneys have opportunities to help formulate policy and legal strategy, investigate cases, draft legal pleadings, negotiate with opposing counsel, and argue in court. In addition, the Honors Program cohort participate in workshops and trainings that help develop their legal skills and introduce them to the full range of work performed by a state attorney general’s office.

The program is open to all third-year law students, students in the final year of other graduate law programs (e.g., LLM programs), judicial clerks who will complete their clerkships by September 2023, and individuals completing post-graduation fellowships by September 2023. Positions are available in Newark and Trenton.

Applicants who meet the Honors Program criteria can apply for entry into the program through the AG Honors Website, at https://www.njoag.gov/careers/ag-honors-program/. Applications are due by October 9, 2022.

“The Honors Program is an extraordinary opportunity for individuals at the beginning of their legal careers to gain significant experience in a dynamic public sector environment,” said Acting Attorney General Platkin. “Honors Program attorneys are put to work tackling the most pressing issues we face across the country, including issues for which New Jersey has emerged as a national leader: protecting reproductive rights and freedoms, upholding firearms safety laws, and ensuring social media accountability, to name just a few. I am proud to continue promoting this crucial program that brings in top talent from New Jersey and beyond, and I thank the Murphy Administration for its essential support.”

The program allows participants to rotate through one or more of 12 subject matter areas:

• Civil Rights;
• Reproductive Health Rights;
• Firearms Civil Enforcement and Accountability;
• Conviction Review and Innocence Claims;
• Social Media Accountability and Data Privacy/Cybersecurity;
• Environmental Justice;
• Public Integrity and Police Licensing;
• Workers’ Rights and Labor Enforcement;
• Violence Intervention and Victim Advocacy;
• Youth Justice;
• Sexual and Domestic Violence Policy, Prevention, and Enforcement; and
• Solicitor General Fellow.

Applications are due by October 9, 2022. Applicants must submit a writing sample, statement of interest, resume, law school transcript, and two references. Those selected for the Honors Program will begin work in September 2023.

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