DOJ is so desperate for lawyers that they’re offering cash for 'well-qualified' staff

The Justice Department is unraveling due to a staffing crisis, so the department is hoping to entice new recruits.

AlterNet reported this week that some of the Justice Department's problems include a massive exodus of staff, including prosecutors, researchers and other support staff. Bloomberg Law reported on Tuesday that the DOJ has responded by offering a signing bonus of up to $25,000.

The New Republic's Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling wrote on Monday that the advocacy group Justice Connection tracked around 5,500 people who left the DOJ by Sept. 2025, either by choice, accepting a buyout or being fired.

Some of the job board postings on the DOJ's website are seeking trial attorneys in the Civil Division, and if an applicant is "well-qualified," they could receive the $25,000 bonus. It's a similar bonus that the Department of Homeland Security offered to boost recruitment. There, law enforcement recruits were promised up to $50,000, the website cites.

The posting then encourages applicants to hurry.

“Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their completed application as soon as possible," it reads.

The job posting also includes a section titled "About the Office," where it buries the disclaimer that the $25,000 bonus may not be a reality if they run out of funding.

"The Division plans to onboard new attorneys by September 6, 2026, with recruitment incentives contingent upon the availability of funding. Because the onboarding process can be lengthy and funding is limited, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their completed application as soon as possible for consideration," it says.

Bloomberg Law said that these incentives are an "apparent first for a department that in previous years would be inundated with resumes from lawyers willing to take significant salary reductions compared to private sector legal practice."

New applicants should know that they're likely to risk alienating judges. Thus far, those overseeing the cases in this division have contemned them "for operating in 'bad faith' or attempting to 'intimidate and harass.'"

Outside of the anti-gender care lawsuits, another section of the department is also trying to "denaturalize Americans born overseas," the report continued. That "separate immigration litigation office ... also started providing bonuses."

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