DOJ 2L Summer Questions

[Byzantine]

Just finished 1L and planning to apply to work 2L Summer at DOJ Vancouver office. I see that they're looking for demonstrated interest in public law + litigation. Have worked at a legal clinic during 1L and going to continue that over the summer. Anything else I should be doing to increase my chances of an interview/job? Any courses I should make sure to enroll in for 2L to increase my chances? 

Also wondering about grade requirements. Is top 10% enough or are they looking for higher than that? 

[Major_Agnostic]

On 5/14/2022 at 3:23 PM, Byzantine said:

Just finished 1L and planning to apply to work 2L Summer at DOJ Vancouver office. I see that they're looking for demonstrated interest in public law + litigation. Have worked at a legal clinic during 1L and going to continue that over the summer. Anything else I should be doing to increase my chances of an interview/job? Any courses I should make sure to enroll in for 2L to increase my chances? 

Also wondering about grade requirements. Is top 10% enough or are they looking for higher than that? 

Hey idk much about DOJ Vancouver (and I'm probably too late in answering your questions) but you should take admin law in 2L to increase your chances and if you want to work in the public sector. Your grades are definitely high enough for any legal position that I know of, at least in the sense that they will never be a factor that will disadvantage you (except MAYBE for SCC clerkship? idk lol).

You should also show proof of bilingualism or that you're actively improving it at least, as even Vancouver would wanna see that since it is federal. Also, be sure to apply to any internships or placements with the public sector; I'm at Queen's and I got an internship with DOJ Ottawa, then got my current 2L job through that.

Just do everything you can to learn about and work in the gov/public sector. This will go a long way in showing how interested you are in working with the DOJ and being able to qualify your candidacy. Network with senior students or people in the DOJ and they will likely help you prepare for interviews or just learn more about the organization.

Returning to the grades aspect, I got a DOJ LEP articling offer, which is quite competitive, even though my grades are average or slightly above average at best. I had the advantage of working with the DOJ beforehand and being fully bilingual. I also had a moot win under my belt, which probably helps a decent amount for any job. Your softs count for a lot more than grades as far as I can tell, so be sure to make time during your studies to work on those. 

EDIT: I also had two really good reference letters: one from my moot supervisor and one from my DOJ supervisor. When I got my offer on call day, the DOJ guy actually mentioned how pleasantly surprised he was by my DOJ reference letter (my supervisor happened to be a top-dog at the DOJ). This is something else to think about that can greatly increase your chances.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Major_Agnostic