Navigating Law Internship Salary Expectations
Securing a law internship is a crucial step for aspiring legal professionals. Understanding the landscape of law internship salary expectations is essential for both students and employers. This article delves into various factors influencing compensation, benefits, and legal considerations surrounding law internships.
Salary Structures for Attorneys
The Department of Justice (DOJ) employs a structured approach to attorney salaries, utilizing distinct pay scales. These scales, separate from the General Schedule (GS) salary structure, are tailored for attorneys and are determined by experience and responsibility levels. The salaries for attorneys differ from the GS salary for each location and are graded based on experience and level of responsibility. Attorneys are subject to the salary policies for those offices.
The DOJ's Honors Program provides a framework for determining entry-level salaries based on qualifications:
- Law degree (J.D. or equivalent): Eligible for a GS-11, step 1
- 1 year of post-law school full-time judicial clerkship experience: Eligible for a GS-12, step 1
- 1 year of post-law school full-time graduate law study (LL.M. or equivalent) or qualifying full time legal fellowship: Eligible for a GS-12, step 1
- 2 - 3 years of full-time judicial clerkships, or combination of 2 - 3 years of post-law school full-time clerkships, qualifying full-time legal fellowships, or a post-law school full-time graduate law degree program: Eligible for a GS-13, step 1
Attorney Promotions and Time-in-Grade Requirements
Attorney promotions within the DOJ are primarily performance-based, contingent upon meeting specific time-in-grade requirements. Attorneys starting at the GS-11 level can potentially reach the GS-15 level within three and one-half years. However, certain DOJ components may impose longer time-in-grade restrictions or limit the grade level attainable for non-supervisory attorneys. Meeting the minimum time-in-grade requirement does not automatically entitle an attorney to a promotion. The chart below reflects the minimum time-in-grade requirements for attorneys compensated under the GS schedule (jurisdiction).
Benefits and Services Offered
The Department of Justice provides a comprehensive suite of benefits and services to support its employees both professionally and personally. These offerings encompass standard federal benefits alongside benefits tailored to the Department.
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Federal Benefits: A Detailed Overview
- Annual Leave: Attorneys accrue vacation time based on their length of federal service. A minimum of 13 days a year. Attorneys earn vacation or annual leave based on the length of their Federal service (0-3 years of federal service = 13 days per year; 3-15 years of service = 20 days per year; 15+ years of federal service = 26 days per year).
- Sick Leave: Regardless of tenure, attorneys accumulate 13 days of sick leave annually, with unused leave carrying over indefinitely.
- Paid Holidays: Federal employees enjoy 11 paid holidays each year, including New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
- Health Care Coverage: Attorneys and their families have access to a variety of health insurance plans, with the government covering a portion of the cost. Plans include traditional fee-for-service plans and prepaid plans (Comprehensive Medical Plans and Health Maintenance Organizations). In addition, Federal employees are covered by Medicare.
- Health Care Flexible Spending Account: Attorneys can utilize Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts for tax-deductible medical expenses not reimbursed by other sources, such as out-of-pocket costs and non-covered benefits under FEHB plans.
- Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program: Attorneys can apply for the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). Participants must be approved based on insurability. The coverage may continue post-retirement.
- Life Insurance: Attorneys can purchase life insurance coverage through the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, with the federal government contributing to the cost. The insurance's face value is determined by the attorney's salary and includes coverage for loss of limbs, eyesight, and accidental death. Additional insurance options are available.
- Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS): The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) is a three-part retirement plan: social security, basic annuity, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a retirement savings and investment plan. Attorneys pay full social security taxes and a small contribution to the basic annuity. In addition, attorneys may make tax-deferred contributions of up to 14% of their annual salary to the TSP, and a portion (up to 5%) is matched by the government.
Internship Compensation Trends
According to NACE’s Guide to Compensation for Interns & Co-ops, the average hourly wage for bachelor’s degree level interns has consistently risen over the past decade, reaching $23.04. However, when adjusted for inflation, interns’ average hourly wage is down 1.1% from 2015 to 2024.
Benefits for Interns and Co-ops
Benefits offered to interns and co-ops are limited. More than four out of five respondents provide social activities, and more than half offer paid holidays, but most don’t offer other benefits.
Legal Considerations: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The FLSA mandates that "for-profit" employers compensate their employees for their work. To determine whether an intern or student qualifies as an employee under the FLSA, courts employ the "primary beneficiary test." This test examines the "economic reality" of the intern-employer relationship to ascertain which party primarily benefits from the arrangement. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation.
The “primary beneficiary test” as a flexible test, and no single factor is determinative. If this analysis reveals that an intern or student is, in fact, an employee, then he or she is entitled to both minimum wage and overtime pay under the FLSA.
Exceptions to the FLSA
The FLSA exempts certain people who volunteer to perform services for a state or local government agency or who volunteer for humanitarian purposes for non-profit food banks. WHD also recognizes an exception for individuals who volunteer their time, freely and without anticipation of compensation, for religious, charitable, civic, or humanitarian purposes to non-profit organizations.
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