HLS Affiliates Say DOJ’s Direct Hiring Policy for Prosecutors Expands Access, But Risks Oversight Gaps

Harvard Law School affiliates and former federal prosecutors say a new Department of Justice policy allowing U.S. Attorney offices to hire directly from law schools could expand access to public service careers — but warn it may come at the cost of essential training and mentorship.

The DOJ sent a memo to U.S. Attorney offices nationwide on March 13 announcing the suspension of a longstanding requirement that newly hired federal prosecutors possess at least one year of legal experience. It cited an “exigent hiring need for attorneys” and will remain in effect through February 2027.

The Attorney General’s Honors Program — in place for more than 70 years — has historically been the only selective pathway for graduating law students to enter entry-level attorney positions at the DOJ. But under the new policy, the applicant pool is open to all law school graduates, regardless of whether they applied through the program.

Several former federal prosecutors pointed to high turnover at the DOJ as the driving force behind the change. The department’s workforce shrank by eight percent between November 2024 and November 2025, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management.

HLS lecturer on law Jonathan J. Wroblewski, who spent more than three decades in the federal criminal justice system, said the need for attorneys is due to “reckless actions that were taken in the opening months of the administration,” including “firing experienced lawyers, firing supervisors, and firing probationary employees.”

HLS professor Alex Whiting, who served as a former federal prosecutor for a decade, said the policy change is consistent with broader reporting about the department’s recruitment difficulties.

“It’s not malpractice to do that, but it does indicate that they have a lot of slots to fill and that they are apparently having difficulty filling,” he said.

A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

The shift arrives at a moment of particular significance for Harvard Law students. The Trump administration’s federal hiring freeze in January 2025 rescinded summer internships and full-time offers for HLS students — including positions through the Honors Program, which placed 15 HLS students in DOJ jobs in 2022, the last year for which data is publicly available.

The new policy could reopen a pathway to federal prosecution that had, until recently, narrowed considerably for law school graduates.

Still, former prosecutors raised concerns about whether new hires will receive adequate training. With fewer experienced attorneys remaining in U.S. Attorney offices, they said, the mentorship infrastructure that has long shaped young prosecutors may be strained.

“You will have a situation where you have fewer experienced prosecutors to do the training, and more inexperienced prosecutors entering the office who need to be trained, and that will be a challenge,” Whiting said.

Joshua D. Hurwit, an HLS graduate who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho under President Joe Biden, questioned whether newly hired prosecutors will “get the same type of training and other opportunities that will help them build the best skill set possible.”

Jacob T. Elberg, an HLS graduate and professor at Seton Hall who spent 11 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey, urged prospective applicants to weigh the department’s current climate carefully.

“Anyone considering taking on a job would want to consider why it is that many others have left, and whether that impacts their own interest in the role,” he said.

But others emphasized that the career prosecutors who remain at the DOJ can still serve as valuable mentors. David V. Harbach II, an HLS graduate and former federal prosecutor, encouraged new hires to seek out those relationships.

“The best piece of advice I could give those people is what I said earlier, to seek out those career prosecutors and know that you can learn from them and you can develop the tools necessary to do the job in an honorable way, in a fair way and the right way, consistent with the department's ideals,” Harbach said.

Andrew S. Macurdy, an HLS graduate and former member of the Trial Advocacy Program faculty, said the weight of the role should not be lost in the debate over hiring standards.

“Being a federal prosecutor and being able to represent the United States government in court is a real honor and it’s a real responsibility,” Macurdy said. “There’s a lot of good that you can do for people, a lot of impactful work that can be done there.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.

—Staff writer Sierra R. Pape can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @SierraRPape.