The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel (OGC), Public Health Division (PHD) is currently accepting applications for two to three full-time unpaid interns for the fall of 2022. Students should be available for approximately 10 weeks, from approximately the beginning of September to the end of November.
Please note that due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, at the time of this posting our office is working remotely. We expect that summer interns will work remotely and might have the option to come into the office on a limited basis. Ordinarily, the internship takes place in our office located in Rockville, MD, and is accessible by the DC metro for those students commuting from DC proper. PHD, one of eight Divisions in OGC, provides legal advice and services to all of the federal agencies within the Public Health Service. The clients we serve out of our Rockville office include the Indian Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Our work touches on a variety of public health matters, such as vaccine and countermeasure injury compensation, scientific misconduct, HIV/AIDS, community health centers, drug pricing, health workforce distribution and training, disease prevention, fitness and nutrition, organ transplantation, health care delivery for American Indians and Alaska Natives, mental health and substance use disorder issues, and the prevention of work-related injury and illness. Interns gain exposure to the most current public health issues, such as efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and combat the national opioid crisis. Work assignments most often involve legal research and writing, in addition to the possibility of some litigation support. Interns are assigned a supervisor, a mentor and a writing coach and also have opportunities to attend client meetings with attorneys, listen in on calls, and attend training sessions.
Interested applicants should submit, in a single PDF document, a cover letter, current resume, unofficial transcript, a writing sample (limit 10 pages), and at least two references to the attention of Cynthia Shabazz-Spurr, Management Analyst, at ogc-phdintern@hhs.gov. The due date for applications is April 4, 2022. Competitive applicants tend to be rising 2nd or 3rd year law students with a demonstrated interest in administrative or health law and superior academic credentials. Please note that law school graduates will not be considered unless they are enrolled in a course of study, such as an LLM program. Applicants should email Ms. Shabazz-Spurr at ogc-phdintern@hhs.gov with any questions.