The Department of Law fellowship program provides exceptionally talented new attorneys an opportunity to join a strong team of appellate and trial practitioners and gain broad experience and insight into the diverse public sector work of the Attorney General’s and District Attorney’s offices.
Civil Division
The Civil Division of the Department of the Law provides counsel to the executive branch of state government in all civil actions, handles legal matters for and provides advice to the Office of the Governor and executive branch agencies, and prosecutes and defends civil litigation on behalf of the state.
Each year, the Civil Division selects exceptionally qualified recent graduates to serve for a two-year Fellowship. Fellows are assigned to the Civil Division’s Professional Development and Public Service section, where they gain practical, hands-on legal experience while enjoying the personal satisfaction of serving the residents of Alaska. In addition to the section supervisor’s mentorship, the Division assigns senior attorneys to serve as mentors for each fellow. Pairings are based on the substantive interests of the fellow and whether they are interested in agency advice, trial court litigation, or appellate practice.
The program allows top-level recent graduates and attorneys coming out of clerkships to experience a wider range of legal work than would ordinarily be available when assigned to a specific section in the Department. Each fellow manages their own caseloads and participates in the full range of work handled by the Civil Division. This includes partnering with attorneys in other sections to work on a wide variety of civil matters including child protection, natural resources, employment, workers’ compensation, torts, governmental management, environment, oil and gas, health and social services, and legislation and regulations. It also includes advising a wide variety of state clients, including state agencies, governmental officials, public corporations, and boards and commissions. The fellows assist with legal advice projects, as well as, appeals, and litigation. Their work includes propounding and reviewing written discovery, taking and defending depositions, drafting legal pleadings and briefs, representing state clients in state or federal courts, representing state agencies in administrative proceedings, working on appeals to Alaska’s superior and supreme courts, assessing cases, and sitting on moot courts for other attorneys.
Through the fellowship, less experienced attorneys gain specialized knowledge, essential skills, and practical, hands-on experience on critical matters of public interest. Near or at the close of the fellowship period, successful fellows are eligible to apply for any open attorney position within the Department, including those only open to current Department employees.
Applicants for the Civil Division fellowship program must be law graduates with strong qualifications who are currently serving or who have very recently served as full-time judicial clerks; law graduates participating in government, academic, or public-interest fellowships that will be completed prior to the start date of the Department of Law’s fellowship; and exceptionally qualified law students in their final year at an accredited law school (including LL.Ms).
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Criminal Division
The Criminal Division works to assure safe and healthy communities by prosecuting and convicting criminal offenders throughout Alaska. Each fall, the program will select one fellow to serve for a two-year term in the Anchorage office. The position is split between the District Attorney's Office and the Office of Criminal Appeals. Over the course of the two-year program, the fellow will have the opportunity to experience a broader range of legal work than would ordinarily be allowed in a permanent position with the Department.
The first year is a trial rotation within the Anchorage District Attorney’s office where the fellow would be exposed to a wide range of felony and misdemeanor criminal litigation, from motion work to trial practice. This is not an assignment limited to covering one class of hearings. The expectation is that the fellow would be able to independently manage a criminal trial caseload of misdemeanors and B and C level felonies, to include first-chairing trials. The fellow will also have the opportunity to work on higher level felony cases under the mentorship of experienced prosecutors.
In the second year, the fellow will be assigned to the Office of Criminal Appeals where they will apply the training gleaned in the District Attorney’s Office to representing the state in appellate matters filed in the court of appeals and federal district court. Primary responsibilities will include drafting appellate briefs, potentially participating in oral argument, evaluating potential appeals, and assisting with special department projects.
Candidates should be law graduates currently serving as full-time judicial clerks or who have recently completed a judicial clerkship; law graduates participating in government, academic, or public-interest fellowships that will be completed prior to the start date of the Department of Law’s fellowship; and exceptionally qualified law students in their final year at an accredited law school.
No Criminal Fellow positions currently available.