The Public Defender Service (PDS) is a federally funded, independent organization governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. PDS provides legal representation to individuals who are facing a loss of liberty in criminal, delinquency, and mental health legal matters in the local District of Columbia legal system but who are financially unable to obtain adequate representation. PDS’s attorneys, social workers, investigators, and administrative and technical staff collaborate to advance the PDS mission. PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and employees are entitled to participate in federal health and life insurance plans, federal retirement plans, and the Thrift Savings Plan. Employment at PDS is neither federal nor District of Columbia government employment, and all employees are at-will.

This position is located in the Office of Human Resources, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. The Office of Human Resources is responsible for developing, organizing, administering, and evaluating the agency’s comprehensive human resources management program to ensure optimum efficiency and effectiveness in the use of human resources to achieve agency goals and objectives. The position serves as the agency’s lead manager for attorney recruitment and hiring; law student pipeline development; and organizing the law clerk training program coordination and orientation, working across divisions to support PDS’s client-centered public defense mission. The position works directly with the PDS Director for the attorney recruitment and hiring. 

The Legal Recruiting Manager designs, leads, implements, and evaluates the agency’s strategy and operations for attorney recruitment; law student outreach, externship programs; fellowship and law clerk pipeline development; the onboarding of legal hires; and selected attorney training initiatives. The incumbent serves as program manager for legal recruitment and attorney pipeline development and is responsible for ensuring the agency has a consistent supply of highly qualified, mission-driven, and diverse attorney and law student candidates to meet current and projected staffing needs.

The position requires expert knowledge of legal recruitment practices, attorney hiring processes, law school career pathways, public-interest pipeline development, and equitable hiring practices. The incumbent works closely with senior leadership, hiring committees, division chiefs, law schools, law firm pro-bono coordinators, bar associations, post-graduate fellowship sponsors, and other stakeholders to attract, assess, select, onboard, and support attorneys and law students whose qualifications and values align with the mission of PDS. In addition, the incumbent coordinates or supports attorney training and early-career integration initiatives that strengthen retention, performance, and long-term workforce planning. 

The Legal Recruiting Manager performs the following duties:

• Designs, implements, manages, and coordinates the agency’s attorney recruitment program to identify, attract, and retain a highly qualified and diverse legal workforce capable of accomplishing agency missions.
• Analyzes and evaluates current and projected staffing challenges, including turnover, vacancies, pipeline gaps, workforce diversity needs, and market competition, and develops recruitment strategies designed to address those issues.
  
• Partners with agency leadership, managing attorneys, and office heads to identify current and projected staffing needs for attorney, fellowship, post-graduate, law clerk, externship, and related legal positions.
  
• Manages the attorney recruitment program for staff attorney and related legal positions throughout the agency, including development of outreach strategies, job postings, candidate communications, interview coordination, screening processes, reference processes, and offer support.
  
• Screens applicants for eligibility, qualifications, mission alignment, and compatibility with agency needs, and refers candidates to hiring committees or selecting officials for further consideration.
  
• Coordinates the activities of hiring committees and provides expert advice and counsel on selection issues, candidate strengths, process requirements, and final hiring recommendations. Exercises delegated authority, where applicable, in the selection of law clerks and other legal pipeline candidates and coordinates implementation of hiring decisions with counterparts throughout the agency.
  
• Builds and maintains relationships with law schools, career services offices, public interest offices, bar affinity groups, fellowship sponsors, public defender and legal services organizations, and professional associations to strengthen recruitment pipelines and broaden access to public defense careers. Represents the agency at law school programs, public interest career fairs, conferences, recruitment forums, and other national or regional events related to legal recruitment, staffing, training, and career development.
  
• Promotes PDS as an employer of choice for candidates committed to indigent defense, client-centered advocacy, racial equity, and criminal legal system reform.
  
• Manages and expands the agency’s externship, fellowship, and law clerk programs, including application review, candidate selection, placement, onboarding, orientation, program logistics, and communication with students, fellows, supervisors, and law school partners.
  
• Manages the summer law clerk program, including recruitment, orientation, training coordination, program oversight, and maintenance of records related to assignments and evaluations.
  
• Coordinates onboarding for new attorneys, fellows, law clerks, and other legal staff in partnership with HR, IT, payroll, and office administration and develops orientation materials and onboarding workflows to support early-career integration.
  
• Collaborates with leadership and supervising attorneys to identify attorney training needs across practice areas and experience levels and coordinates or supports training calendars, new-attorney orientation, foundational skills training, and selected professional development initiatives.
  
• Develops and maintains recruitment, hiring, and pipeline program data and prepares regular reports on applicant flow, hiring outcomes, pipeline development, timelines, and program effectiveness.
  
• Monitors compliance with applicable employment laws, equal opportunity requirements, hiring policies, and recordkeeping obligations and supports standardized hiring materials, selection criteria, documentation practices, and evaluation tools.
  
• Advises all levels of agency management concerning employment policies and practices affecting equal employment opportunity, workforce diversity, and equitable recruitment, and provides advice and guidance in the development and implementation of affirmative action or related diversity-supportive strategies.
  
• Works closely with the Director, Deputy Director, Chief Human Resources Officer, managing attorneys, office administrators, training staff, and communications personnel on strategic initiatives related to recruitment, retention, workforce planning, attorney development, and employee engagement.
  
• Contributes to agency efforts to improve recruitment systems, candidate experience, interview coordination, branding, onboarding, and professional development infrastructure for attorneys and law students.
  
• Provides outplacement employment counseling to attorneys and other staff as requested.
  
• Performs other duties as assigned. Managing recruitment processes or programs for attorneys, law students, fellows,externs, law clerks, or other legal personnel.
  

Applicants must demonstrate experience, education, and/or training sufficient to perform the duties of the position. Candidates must possess progressively responsible experience in attorney recruitment, legal hiring, public-interest recruiting, law school career services, talent acquisition, attorney development, or closely related work.

Applicants must have demonstrated experience in the following areas:

• Developing recruitment strategies, conducting outreach, screening applicants, coordinating interviews, and advising hiring officials or selection committees.
  
• Building relationships with law schools, career services offices, fellowship sponsors, professional associations, bar organizations, or public-interest partners.
  
• Managing multiple projects, timelines, stakeholders, recruitment events, and hiring cycles simultaneously.
  
• Applying employment laws, equal opportunity principles, equitable hiring practices, and recruitment recordkeeping requirements.
  
• Preparing written guidance, recruitment materials, reports, presentations, and communications for applicants, leadership, and external partners.
  
• Using applicant tracking systems, HR information systems, databases, or reporting tools to manage recruitment activity and evaluate outcomes.
  
• Communicating effectively with attorneys, students, administrators, senior leaders, and community stakeholders in a mission-driven environment.
  
• Candidates must possess strong written and oral communication skills, sound judgment, discretion, analytical and project management ability, relationship-building skills, and the capacity to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

To qualify at the PDS Grade 13 level, candidates must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the PDS Grade 12 level in attorney recruitment, legal hiring, public-interest recruiting, law school career services, human resources, talent acquisition, attorney development, or closely related work.

Specialized experience must demonstrate experience supporting and coordinating recruitment and talent acquisition activities for attorneys, law students, fellows, externs, law clerks, or other legal professionals; developing and executing recruitment activities and outreach strategies; screening applicants and coordinating hiring processes; advising hiring managers or selection officials on recruitment procedures and best practices; establishing and maintaining relationships with law schools, professional organizations, and recruitment partners; applying equal employment opportunity principles, fair hiring practices, and applicable recruitment policies; and preparing recruitment materials, correspondence, reports, and other written products.

To qualify at the PDS Grade 14 level, candidates must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the PDS Grade 13 level in attorney recruitment, legal hiring, public-interest recruiting, law school career services, human resources, talent acquisition, attorney development, or closely related work.

Specialized experience must demonstrate experience independently managing complex recruitment and legal talent acquisition programs; developing and implementing recruitment strategies; advising senior leaders, hiring officials, and selection committees on recruitment and selection matters; managing multiple concurrent hiring initiatives and talent pipeline programs; building and maintaining strategic partnerships with law schools, professional organizations, fellowship sponsors, and other legal recruitment stakeholders; applying employment laws, equal employment opportunity principles, equitable hiring practices, and recruitment compliance requirements; analyzing recruitment data and workforce trends; and preparing recommendations, reports, presentations, and communications that support organizational workforce objectives.

Your application package will be reviewed to determine whether you meet the minimum qualifications and the degree to which your experience, education, training, and accomplishments demonstrate the competencies required for the position. Please provide detailed information supporting your qualifications. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in your application not receiving further consideration.

Rating: Your application package will be rated and ranked among other applicants based on your experience, education, training, and other information relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating may be lowered if the information in your application is not supported by the requested documents.

Referral: If you are among the top-qualified candidates, your application package will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. You may be invited to participate in one or more selection interviews or assessments.

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$ 117,962 .00 - $153,336.00

PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and employees are eligible to participate in federal benefits plans, federal retirement systems, and the workers’ compensation program. Transferring federal employees receive recognition of creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement, as applicable. Benefits include:

• Federal Employees Retirement System (retirement annuity)
• Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401(k) program)
• Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
• Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance
• Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program
• Flexible Spending Accounts for health care and dependent care
• Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, when available
• Public transportation subsidy, subject to funding
• Parking garage access, subject to availability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Federal Occupational Health clinic and services

You must submit a complete application package as one PDF file containing:

• A cover letter;
• A résumé that includes your email address; and
• A list of three professional references, including each reference’s name, address, telephone number, and a statement describing how the reference can evaluate your qualifications.

Your cover letter must specifically address:

• Your experience managing attorney, law student, fellowship, externship, law clerk, or other legal recruitment programs.
• Your experience developing recruitment strategies, conducting outreach, screening applicants, and advising hiring managers or selection committees.
• Your experience building partnerships with law schools, career services offices, bar associations, fellowship sponsors, public-interest organizations, or other recruitment partners.
• Your experience coordinating multiple hiring cycles, events, projects, stakeholders, and deadlines.
• Your knowledge of legal hiring practices, public-interest recruitment, equitable selection methods, and applicable employment requirements.
• Your experience using applicant tracking, HR information, data-management, or reporting systems to evaluate recruitment activity and outcomes.
• Your skill in communicating clearly, orally and in writing, with applicants, attorneys, students, senior leaders, and external partners.

Please ensure your application package contains detailed information supporting your qualifications. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in rejection of your application package. To ensure proper consideration, the subject line of your application email must include the announcement number and position title, for example: PDS-2026-26 Legal Recruiting Manager

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on 08/21/2026 to [email protected].