The FAA is the acknowledged leader in aviation and aerospace transportation. Our mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. The Office of the Chief Counsel (AGC) plays a vital role in supporting the agency’s mission by providing in-house legal services on a variety of matters including those involving regulatory law, federal procurement law, information law, airport and environmental law, labor and employment law, national security law, international law, and legislation; representing the FAA in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, on a variety of matters pending in the federal courts; and representing the FAA before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Additionally, most of the FAA’s contract matters are resolved through the agency’s Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition. As part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), our attorneys work closely with the DOT’s Office of General Counsel on issues of significance to the aviation industry.

Our diverse legal practice provides a wealth of opportunities for interested law students, and AGC is committed to offering interns a meaningful and rewarding experience. In addition to substantive assignments and opportunities to brief senior leaders, our program emphasizes mentoring and career development. In the summer, students make offsite visits to local FAA and NTSB facilities and meet weekly for brown bag lunch discussions with senior leaders.

We offer full-time summer and part-time fall and spring semester legal internships to current law students who will be continuing in law school after their internships. We do not permit split summers. Most internships are located in our Washington, D.C. headquarters. The internships offer the opportunity to work directly with our senior staff in one or more practice areas on a variety of substantive assignments. Interns also can consider earning academic credit for their work with us. Learn more about the Practice Areas that expect to hire interns here.  

Qualifications

We invite applications from first-year and second-year law students who are United States citizens. Our interns generally rank in the top third of their class with many in the top ten percent; however, we encourage all interested law students to apply for our available internship opportunities.

How to apply

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2024 Spring and Summer sessions of our Law Honors Interns Program.

All future internships will be advertised on USAJOBS.gov.

Applications for internships in our Washington, D.C. headquarters or regional offices, will be accepted on USAJOBS.gov. Applicants will be required to  submit a current resume, a copy of  undergraduate and law school transcripts, a short writing sample (not exceeding 5 pages), and a cover letter identifying the principal practice area(s) in which they are interested. We strongly recommend that you review the detailed information regarding each of the principal practice area(s) on AGC’s Division Preference Form and prepare to indicate your preferences during the USAJOBS.gov application process.

Thank you for your interest in the FAA's Office of the Chief Counsel. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you have questions regarding your recent application, you may contact:

Maria Surdokas
Attorney and Co-Director, Law Honors Intern Program
Employment and Labor Law Division
Office of the Chief Counsel
Email: 9-AWA-AGC-Internship@faa.gov

Jack F. Williams 
Attorney and Co-Director, Law Honors Intern Program
Airports and Environmental Law Division
Office of the Chief Counsel
Email: 9-AWA-AGC-Internship@faa.gov