Have you ever financed a car or shopped online? Have you exercised your right to receive a free credit report, or used the National Do Not Call Registry to block unwanted telemarketing calls? Do you ever refer to product warranties, clothing care labels, or stickers showing the energy costs of home appliances? If so, you have been taking advantage of laws enforced by the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection!
The Bureau of Consumer Protection’s mandate is to protect consumers against unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices. The Bureau enforces a variety of consumer protection laws enacted by Congress, as well as rules issued by the Commission. Its actions include investigations, federal court litigation, rulemaking proceedings, and consumer and business education.
Summer Law Clerk Program
Each year, the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection hosts a summer law clerk program. We look for highly motivated second-year law students with an interest in working on consumer protection issues. Each law clerk will work with each of BCP’s divisions throughout the summer: Advertising Practices, Enforcement, Financial Practices, Marketing Practices, and Privacy and Identity Protection. We offer substantive legal work that gives law clerks the opportunity to demonstrate their writing and analytical skills. Our program is small (typically eight clerks), to enable summer law clerks to take on meaningful assignments with significant responsibility. Assignments may include: conducting legal research on a wide range of issues; drafting memoranda; interviewing witnesses and summarizing findings; reviewing documents; and attending meetings with parties and their outside counsel. Each summer law clerk is paired with an attorney mentor.
Eligibility
The BCP summer law clerk program is an unpaid opportunity; however, students must receive a stipend or course credit for completing their internship. Law students should contact their respective law school for requirement details. Law clerks typically work at least eight weeks and usually up to twelve weeks.
Applicants must have completed two years of law school by the start of the summer in which they clerk with BCP, and they must be continuing in their legal studies in the fall semester following the clerkship. Applicants must be U.S. citizens to be eligible for employment. Selected applicants are required to work onsite at our Washington, DC office.
Applications
If you would like to apply for the summer law clerk program, please submit a cover letter, resume, unofficial law school transcript, and writing sample to bcplawclerk@ftc.gov. Please include “Summer Law Clerk Application” in the subject line.
Semester Programs: 2Ls and 3Ls
The Bureau of Consumer Protection offers Fall and Spring semester legal internships to second and third-year law students at its Washington, DC offices. Semester law clerks work with BCP’s divisions – Advertising Practices, Enforcement, Financial Practices, Marketing Practices, and Privacy and Identity Protection – depending on need. Assignments may include: conducting legal research on a wide range of issues; drafting memoranda; interviewing witnesses and summarizing findings; reviewing documents; and attending meetings with parties and their outside counsel.
Semester internships are unpaid; however, students must receive course credit for completing their internship. Interested students should contact their respective law schools for requirement details. Applicants must be U.S. citizens to be eligible for employment. Interns will be required to work onsite at our Washington, DC offices.
To apply for a fall or spring internship, please submit a cover letter, resume, unofficial law school transcript, and writing sample to bcplawclerk@ftc.gov. Please include “Fall Semester Application” or “Spring Semester Application” in the cover line. Applications are accepted for both part-time (minimum of 16 hours/week) and full-time positions. Interviews are scheduled and offers are extended on a rolling basis.
Regional Office Legal Internships
For information about possible legal internships with the FTC outside of Washington, DC, see our Regional Offices page, and contact those offices directly.