District of Alaska
https://ak.fd.org/

The District of Alaska is the largest geographical federal judicial district in the United States and covers an area three times the size of Texas. We have typical federal cases like guns, drugs, fraud, cybercrime, and child pornography, but we also have wildlife and environmental prosecutions under the Lacey Act, the Clean Air Act, and a host of environmental protection laws. We have clients all over rural Alaska whose cases require travel and would afford the fellow an opportunity to experience life above the arctic circle, in the Bering Sea, and throughout Southeast Alaska.

We have satellite offices in Fairbanks and Juneau, and our attorneys travel on a regular basis. We are an office of trial attorneys, and routinely litigate motion work and take cases to trial. Our attorneys are collaborative, creative, passionate, and supportive. We have very little turnover and a high degree of work satisfaction.

The District of Alaska promotes a healthy balance between work and personal time and encourages employees to take advantage of what our amazing state has to offer. From hiking to skiing, and fishing to camping, there are endless opportunities for adventure in Alaska. There are about 300 miles of hiking trails in the Anchorage area alone.

Anchorage occupies the land of the Dena'ina people, and there are ample opportunities in and around Anchorage to learn about the history of Alaska's first people. Anchorage is also surprisingly diverse: East, Bartlett and West High Schools have among the most diverse student populations in the country.

Not only does Alaska provide endless adventures in the great outdoors, our local community of attorneys hails from all over the country and are especially collegial. Without a law school, our bar candidates often relocate and form tight knit communities through their work connections. Alaskans are hardy and friendly and funny; if you want to train with great lawyers and have a unique adventure in the land of the midnight sun, this is the place for you!

https://www.alaska.gov/
https://www.anchorage.net/

Southern District of California
https://fdsdi.com/

Much of the practice--and certainly a new attorney's practice--is guided by our proximity to the border. That means new attorneys get the bulk of the illegal re-entry cases. After a few months, they begin to get drug and people smuggling cases. Newer attorneys would also get cases with lower sentencing exposure. Once attorneys have the basics of practice nailed down (like motions and sentencing) they will have the opportunity to work on more complex cases. As a border district, we have a larger number of reactive cases than non-border districts.

The best weather in the United States is in San Diego, California. There are so many opportunities for outdoor activities. The San Diego coastline is beautiful and has great beaches. There are great hikes twenty minutes from downtown. Adjacent to downtown San Diego is Balboa Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country.  Famously, Balboa has the San Diego Zoo but also museums, restaurants, and hikes. Mexico is 15 miles south of San Diego. Not surprisingly, San Diego has the best Mexican food in the country. Many of our clients live in Mexico and cross the border every day. Because we are so close, people in the office can travel to Mexico and interact with a different culture. 

San Diego has vibrant immigrant communities with great food. San Diego is one of the largest cities in the U.S., so it has urban offerings like theater and music. Finally, the office has a tradition of hiring new attorneys every year. People come from all over the country and form very close bonds with each other. Even as people move on from the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. (FDSDI), the relationships people form here are lifelong. And, because it has a tradition as a training office, we are set up to help a diversity fellow as they are learning to be a lawyer in the federal system.

https://www.ca.gov/
https://www.sandiego.gov/

Districts of Colorado and Wyoming
http://www.cofpd.org/

Our Denver headquarters represents clients from across Colorado in district court and across the Tenth Circuit. The most common charges involve drugs and guns, but also include robbery, child pornography, terrorism, money laundering and financial fraud, tax evasion, interstate threats and cyberbullying, and immigration-related offenses. Additionally, Colorado is home to two Indian reservations, two large federal prison complexes (including the infamous “Supermax” facility), six military bases, four national parks, and many other federal offices and facilities. As a result, we see many cases arising from these locations, some involving assimilated state crimes, others involving federal crimes like contraband possession, physical and sexual assaults, and homicides. Our appellate docket is similarly diverse, and in recent years has included an uptick in cases due to the Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. 

Denver is a friendly, sunny, and rapidly growing city, with over three million people who now live in the metro area. Outdoor activities abound: the city and surrounding suburbs are full of parks, dog runs, and bike paths. With some of the Western U.S.’s best state and national parks and forest lands, one can experience nearly every outdoor winter and summer sport imaginable with just a short drive to the mountains. 

Downtown Denver has a large performing arts complex, which gets national tours of plays and musicals and is home to a wonderful local symphony, ballet, and opera. There is a vibrant local music scene at venues small and large, including the nationally renowned outdoor music venue Red Rocks Amphitheater. There are professional sports teams (and some are pretty good…), as well as nationally recognized collegiate programs. Intramural leagues and social clubs abound, as do excellent restaurants. We have a far-reaching commuter rail system, and the Denver International Airport. The Denver metro region also includes neighboring Aurora, which is one of the most diverse cities in Colorado; approximately 20 percent of the people living there were born abroad, and it is an emerging and culturally rich area where countries from around the world are represented in international grocery stores, small businesses, and active local non-profit organizations. All told, the Denver area is a great place in which to be young, but also a wonderful place in which to raise a family. Many of our employees have young children and have put down roots in their communities in recent years. They strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance, enjoying all that the region has to offer and socializing together frequently, and will be eager to introduce our fellow to new friends and activities.

https://www.colorado.com/
https://www.denver.org/

District of Kansas
https://ks.fd.org/

We practice holistic defense. This creates a variety of litigation opportunities for the fellow. For example, we have been working on strategies to reduce supervised release revocations and need to develop a plan to intervene before a petition is filed. We also have litigation opportunities for newer attorneys because we handle misdemeanor dockets at the local military bases: Fort Leavenworth and Fort Riley. These dockets would allow a fellow to gain in-court experience defending lower-level offenses.

Our office also has a very strong appellate unit. Our three appellate attorneys have significant experience litigating cases before the Tenth Circuit and maintain a frequent Supreme Court cert petition caseload. We would plan to have the fellow assist in at least one appeal during their time in our office and would want them to travel to Denver for oral argument as second chair. We have a robust moot court program involving other FPD offices, private counsel, academics, and retired judges. The fellow would be involved with preparing for and participating in these moots.

Our Kansas City, Kansas office is in the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse. The office is minutes away from downtown Kansas City, Missouri and the fellow could choose to live in a variety of places in the area including downtown Kansas City, Missouri, or any of the various districts within Kansas City.

We also have an office in Topeka, Kansas, with newly expanded office space. A fellow working in Kansas City or Topeka could opt to live in Lawrence, Kansas which is approximately forty-minutes from the KC and 30 minutes from Topeka. Lawrence is home to the University of Kansas (and many of our employees).

We also have an office in Wichita, Kansas, which is the second largest city in Kansas. Wichita has a robust arts, music, and food scene. All three offices are about the same size and offer similar litigation opportunities.

Living in Kansas has several benefits, including affordability. According to the ACCRA Cost of Living Index from 1st Quarter, 2021, Kansas City, Missouri is cheaper to live in than the U.S. average overall, and specifically in the cost of housing and transportation. Kansas City is the home to three professional sports teams (NFL, MLB, MLS), a world-class art museum (The Nelson-Atkins), and a new airport (which is approximately 20 minutes from the office).

https://portal.kansas.gov/
https://www.visitkansascityks.com/

Eastern District of Missouri
https://moe.fd.org/

EDMO’s Federal Defender office is headquartered in St. Louis.  Our caseload includes a wide range of charges but is heavy on firearms, violent crime, and drug charges.  EDMO indicts more firearms charges than any district in the United States. We are a top district for 924(c) firearms and fentanyl trafficking charges.  Our district also pursues car jackings, robberies and other matters usually pursued in state court. Despite our caseload we have one of the highest downward variance rates in the country.   We rely heavily on motion practice to challenge government procedure; mitigation to humanize our clients to the court and we litigate sentencing enhancements regularly. We staff five specialty courts including a Mental Health, Drug, Gang, Veteran, and a Diversion Court. Our attorneys do not specialize – they handle all variety of cases commensurate with their experience.   We encourage regular off-site training for all employees and host internal CLEs monthly.   

St. Louis is a large urban area offering cultural, artistic, and sporting venues for entertainment. We are known for good food, great music, and several universities. We have a lousy baseball team this year, but they play in a great stadium. We also have professional soccer, hockey and XFL football teams. Forest park - one of the largest urban parks in the U.S. - has walking trails, bike trails, several world class museums, and a free zoo. St. Louis hosts annual art fairs, musical festivals, a hot air balloon race and the country's second largest Mardi Gras celebration. These attractions are within driving distance to the many rivers and hiking trails of rural Missouri. We are also a reasonable drive to other metropolitan cities such as Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, and Indianapolis. We have a large, international airport with direct flights to most major cities. 

Much of our team is homegrown due to the low cost of living in St. Louis compared to the culture offered. However, at least a third of our office are transplants to the area. Our staff of 54 is comprised of 26 attorneys, 9 investigators/mitigation specialists, administrative support, and paralegals.  We hold regular social events for the office including food days, happy hours, 5k runs, DEI events, bowling and softball tournaments.  We commemorate individual achievements as well. Our members are diverse in age, gender, race, religious background, and sexual orientation. We have a fantastic group of people and we genuinely like hanging out together. We provide much needed support to each other during the successes and struggles we face in this challenging job. We are very excited to host a Diversity Fellow and look forward to all they will offer our team. 

https://www.mo.gov
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov

Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi
https://ms.fd.org/

Our caseloads include a mix of firearms, drugs, fraud, child porn, and major crimes from the Choctaw reservation.  Immigration cases occur in cycles --sometimes including charges for identity theft, false claim, and false statements.  We usually try several gun cases every year.  We encourage robust pretrial litigation; motions to suppress, motions in limine, and discovery motions, are excellent learning opportunities for fellows.  We also litigate Bruen motions in our firearms cases.

Jackson, MS is in the center of the State.  It is about two and half hours from New Orleans, about three hours from Memphis, and just an hour flight to Atlanta or Houston.  The airport is never busy, but also has direct flights to Washington, DC, Dallas, and Charlotte NC.  Travel is very easy and convenient.

Mississippi may be the most historic when it comes to the struggle for racial equality and civil rights. This struggle continues today.  We want to be in the forefront as champions of liberty.  Our clients inherited the vestiges of slavery, Jim Crow legislation, and a host of other indignities that most people would rather forget.  Mississippi will prepare the young public defender for a life of fighting for culture change.  

We are serious people who believe in balance.  We encourage our team members to enjoy the positive aspects of our environment.  Jackson has a lot to offer.  The city has a wide variety of restaurants, museums, clubs, and outdoor events.  Our office is walking distance from the "Two Mississippi Museums."  The Museum of Mississippi History and The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opened in 2017.  We are also a block away from the Museum of Art.  

The Fondren and Belhaven neighborhoods are close to downtown Jackson as well.  They have great restaurants, yoga studios, happy hours, craft beer gardens, bookstores, and fantastic coffeehouses.  The Natchez Trace, a historic trail original developed by indigenous people in this area, provides bike trails, hiking trails, and running paths.  College sports events are big attractions.  Jackson State University (JSU) is part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).  They hold the conference championship trophy for the last two years.  The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and Mississippi State University both belong to the top ranked Southeastern Conference (SEC).  

https://www.ms.gov/
https://www.jacksonms.gov/

Eastern District of North Carolina
https://nce.fd.org/

Our office provides an incredibly wide variety of litigation opportunities for our attorneys—from misdemeanors to Supreme Court cases, and everything in between. We have a full felony caseload, focused primarily on firearms offenses, drug offenses, violent crimes, immigration offenses, sex offenses (including child pornography and human trafficking) and financial/fraud crimes. In a typical year, our office has four to six felony cases proceed to jury trial.

Federal criminal practice is a sentencing practice, and we focus heavily on sentencing hearings. We also have an active appellate section.  Additionally, the Eastern District of North Carolina contains the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina—one of the primary centers for mental health evaluations in the federal prison system.  In a typical year, our office has five to eight civil commitment cases proceed to certification and/or challenge trials.  

Our district also contains multiple military bases open to the public (Ft. Bragg, Camp Lejeune, MCAS Cherry Point) as well as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, meaning that our office has a large misdemeanor docket based on minor crimes that occur in those federal areas. These cases move quickly and resemble a typical state court practice.  

The Eastern District of North Carolina stretches from the capital city of Raleigh through rural communities and military bases and extends to the beaches on the coast.  Fewer places in the country boast a higher quality of life. The Triangle region--Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill--is a hotbed of music, culture, and sports. In Raleigh alone, we have the Hopscotch and Dreamville music festivals, Carolina Hurricanes hockey, professional men and women's soccer, anime conventions, beer festivals, and much more. The Triangle is also home to the best, most intense college basketball rivalries anywhere.  If you want to get out of town, from Raleigh, you are only two hours to the beach heading east and three hours to the mountains heading west.

Each of the Triangle cities has its own identity and feel-- Raleigh is the biggest and most cosmopolitan. Durham is a little scruffier and a little funkier. Chapel Hill is the quintessential laid-back college town. Black history is rich in our district and in our state - from the site of Durham's Black Wall Street to Greensboro's Woolworth sit-in museum to Wilmington, the site of the 1898 race riot and the home of the Wilmington Ten.

https://www.nc.gov/
https://raleighnc.gov/

District of New Jersey 
https://nj.fd.org/

The current dockets in this district include gun cases (i.e., possession of firearms by convicted felons); drug possession; possession of child pornography; hate crimes; and terrorism. According to the United States Sentencing Commission, for fiscal year 2022, the top three categories of cases in the district were drugs (33.2%), firearms (23.6%), and fraud/theft/embezzlement (21.6%). A fellow assigned to a case is responsible for all the litigation in that case and any subsequent hearings. So, it is possible that a fellow will brief motions for a suppression hearing, conduct the hearing if it is granted (witness prep, cross-examination, oral argument), do the post-hearing briefing, and, if the fellow so chooses, file and argue any appellate briefs in the Third Circuit with the assistance of our appellate counsel.

No matter who you are, New Jersey, home of the incomparable Lauryn Hill, ageless Paul Rudd, X (formerly known as Twitter) doyenne Dionne Warwick, rock hero Bruce Springsteen, edgy comedian Chris Rock, and TikTok’s Deli Guy has something for everyone. If beaches are your jam, New Jersey is home to some of the East Coast’s best beaches, including Higbee, Belmar and Point Pleasant beaches. If you prefer live music, Asbury Park has its famous boardwalk and old school music halls. If you’re a sports fan, the New York Jets and the New York Giants play at Met Life Stadium in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The New Jersey Devils are often one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, and the New York Red Bulls play professional soccer at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Closer to home in Newark, the city is continuing to revolutionize itself and tell its story through food, drink, and culture. You can spend a weekend at Glass Roots, a non-profit that teaches the art of glass blowing through classes and workshops. Or visit Akwaaba Gallery, which is quickly becoming an art hub in the West Ward with its diverse and eclectic contemporary art, and the artist-owned alternative arts space Gallery Aferro. You must eat of course, and we’re happy to recommend the food at Taino’s Kitchen, a Puerto Rican eatery on Halsey Street, and Vonda’s Kitchen, a southern food joint on Kinney Street, among many others. Once you’ve taken in some culture, and had a meal, perhaps you can finish it off at All Points West Distillery, a craft distillery that makes small batches of whiskey, rum, gin and vodka in Newark’s Ironbound district, and offers weekend tours and provides insight into their brewing process.

Finally, New Jersey has access to several large cities: New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., and a day trip is only a car or train ride away!

https://nj.gov/  
https://www.newarknj.gov/

Northern District of Ohio
http://www.fpd-ohn.org/

We are zealous advocates for our clients, providing independent trial defense services free from outside influence and we represent every client within the guidelines of the laws, consistent with our professional ethics, and under all applicable rules of practice. We work together as a team of legal professionals to uphold every person’s right to be presumed innocent, and when required to a fair sentence. We advocate for humane sentences by showing judges, prosecutors, and the Ohio Parole Board we represent people, not “criminals.”

Prosecutions in this District have long focused on street crimes via multiple task force initiatives which heavily target urban areas and crimes involving weapons and drugs. We also handle a significant number of complex white collar crime cases involving fraud, requiring the securing, and vetting of experts such as college professors, medical professionals, and forensic accountants. While most cases result in guilty pleas, we have enhanced our trial practice by attempting to ferret out biases during voir dire by filing non-traditional motions supplemented with video presentations requesting specific questions on gender, racial and ethnic biases of the jury panel. Finally, we have a robust sentencing practice. Our office has been a leader in supplementing our Sentencing Motions with embedded and non-embedded video which support mitigation and requests for a departure or variance.

Our dedication to zealously representing and humanizing our clients is also reflected in our commitment to cultivating a work environment where all our team members have a voice and can embrace our differences to innovate service to the public. We seek and welcome the unique contributions brought by diversity in culture, ethnicity, education, opinions, race, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, religion, disability, or economic status.

The local political, business and community leaders have made a concerted effort to make Downtown Cleveland more livable and livelier with increased residential apartments converted from former office and warehouse buildings. Many entertainment, cultural, professional sport, and restaurant choices are just steps away from our downtown office. Our downtown is very "walkable" with wonderful views of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River. Our local national and state parks scattered around the city, our "string of pearls,” is not to be missed. We are a diverse mid-western city and are familiar with the challenges of any urban community. But we are proud to be approachable and welcoming to visitors and new residents.  

https://ohio.gov/home
https://www.clevelandohio.gov/
https://www.clevescene.com/

Middle District of Pennsylvania
https://pam.fd.org/

The Middle District of Pennsylvania (MDPA) has three offices: Harrisburg, Scranton, and Williamsport. The fellow will be stationed at the Harrisburg office. The types of cases in the MDPA vary but the fellow will likely have the opportunity to participate in the defense of prosecutions involving drugs and guns, production of child pornography, fraud, and immigration. 

The MDPA is a high-volume trial district. The fellow will be involved in all phases of defending a federal criminal case including client meetings, arraignments, detention hearings, pretrial written motions practice, pretrial evidentiary hearings, plea negotiations, change of plea proceedings, witness interviews and preparation, jury trials, sentencing mitigation, and sentencing proceedings. If admitted to practice, and with the appropriate experience and training, the fellow will be assigned an independent case load under the supervision of the Trial Chief. The MDPA's trial appeals unit is also stationed in Harrisburg.

Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, provides a blend of natural beauty and city life. That, and its affordability, is why Harrisburg landed at #35 on the Best Places to Live List by the U.S. News and World Report. One of the reasons Harrisburg is a great place to live is the beautiful riverfront scenery. The Susquehanna River flows through the center of town, and the Federal Public Defender’s Office is located on the riverfront.

Our location provides plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities, including biking and walking trails along Riverfront Park and hiking trails along the famous Appalachian Trail. Riverfront Park also hosts many of the metro area’s annual festivals and events, and is home to the Harrisburg Senators, the AA affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Harrisburg also enjoys a convenient central location and big-city weekend getaways are easily accessible by train or car. From Harrisburg, Baltimore is 80 miles, Philadelphia is 100 miles, and Washington, D.C., New York, and Pittsburgh are a two-to three-hour drive. Philadelphia and New York are also accessible by train, and Philadelphia and Baltimore have large international airports.

https://www.pa.gov/
https://harrisburgpa.gov/

Districts of North Dakota and South Dakota
https://sdnd.fd.org/

A majority of the Office's caseload comes from the sovereign lands of the twelve federally recognized tribes located within the exterior boundaries of the Districts of North Dakota and South Dakota. The nature of the docket combines the best experiences of what one would normally expect in a state public defense office with the lower case numbers and superior resources a federal defender organization can offer. Although we get our share of guns, drugs, and immigration offenses like many other federal defender offices, we also are appointed to numerous other types of offenses that range from minor assaults and larcenies to significant sex offenses and violent crimes occurring on tribal lands.

In terms of specific litigation opportunities, cases pending in our districts proceed to trial much more regularly than the national average. We typically try roughly 15-25 cases annually and obtain favorable results in roughly 30-40% of those cases tried. The result is an office culture built around trial and the opportunity to practice with incredibly experienced trial lawyers. This trial heavy practice provides the fellow with limitless learning opportunities: participating in trial preparation, investigation, and legal theory building, examining witnesses, and participating in trials in a variety of ways.

For anyone that needs a personal day occasionally, it is difficult to imagine a better place than the Dakotas. Between the Black Hills, the Bad Lands, and Teddy Roosevelt National Park, there are no shortages of places to take a day, a few hours, or a weekend to take in some of the most beautiful locations the planet has to offer. Whether you hike, bike, drive, hunt, fish, or simply like to stand atop a hill and take it all in, no matter which branch you work in, immense natural beauty isn't far away.

https://www.ndtourism.com/
https://sd.gov/

Western District of Washington
https://waw.fd.org/

Our district extends from the Canadian border to Oregon, west of the Cascade Mountains, and includes major metropolitan areas (Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver), farming and rural communities, the San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, several national parks, “Indian Country” (there are 26 tribes with reservations in the district), and large military and naval bases. According to the last census, 40.5% of the Seattle population identifies as persons of color and almost 20% are foreign born. In Tacoma, 43% of the population identifies as persons of color. We also have an exceptionally diverse bench, with all the active district judges having been appointed during the current administration. Chief Judge David Estudillo is Hispanic; Judge Lauren King is the first Native American to serve on our bench and only the 6th Native American to become a federal judge; Judge Tana Lin was the first Asian American appointed to the district; Judge John Chun is the first Korean American to serve here; and Judge Jamal Whitehead, the second Black judge on the district's bench, was sworn in on March 14 of this year.

We handle an exceptionally broad range of cases. They include every category of federal criminal offense, including gun, drug, and complex fraud offenses, as well as violent crimes from Native American reservations, national parks and military bases more frequently seen in state courts. We also represent clients in complex computer-related cases.  Our office often incorporates racial disparity and equity issues into litigation, such as presenting evidence of the racist historical origins of immigration and other statutes. The foundation of all this work consists of the warm, dedicated, and talented people who work here in a collaborative and creative manner.

We have created a video to introduce our office, district, and region: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDm1N5WtloY.

https://wa.gov/
https://www.seattle.gov/