After mass departures at U.S. attorneys' offices, the Department of Justice is waiving a policy requiring newly hired federal prosecutors to have at least one year of experience practicing law, according to reporting by Bloomberg Law.
U.S. attorneys’ offices throughout the country previously adopted their own rules mandating at least three years of legal practice, rather than the nationwide baseline threshold of one year. Now, even that baseline is gone. Several districts, including Minnesota and the Southern District of Florida, have already abandoned the experience requirement.
In a March 13 memo titled “Suspension of Attorney One Year Experience Requirement,” DOJ’s recruitment office informed U.S. Attorneys’ Offices that they may advertise positions without this minimum qualification. The policy change will remain in effect through February 28, 2027, citing an “exigent hiring need for attorneys across the department.”
Back to News Page