DOJ Offers Lawyers $25,000 Signing Bonuses as Hiring Lags (1)

The Justice Department is taking a new tack to overcome hurdles in attracting qualified legal talent and to prevent current lawyers from leaving: offering signing and retention bonuses throughout the Civil Division.

New vacancy postings show signing bonuses of $25,000 are newly available to staff offices investigating youth transgender treatments and litigating the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

Further, the head of the Civil Division—which plays a crucial role advancing and protecting the president’s policies in court—informed all his attorneys Monday that they’ll begin receiving a “retention incentive allowance” ranging from around $60 to $220 every pay period through Thanksgiving, according to an internal email reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

The financial enticements 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. Padding lawyers’ biweekly paychecks signals a division growing more desperate to stave off further departures of valuable legal minds, including those who’ve expressed discomfort with defending the president’s policies from a slew of lawsuits.

Trial attorney vacancies posted on DOJ’s website Tuesday for the Civil Division’s recently created enforcement and affirmative litigation branch describe in bold print “a signing bonus of up to $25,000" that may be awarded to “well-qualified candidates.” The job advertisements, which would support a DOJ team that’s been repeatedly losing in court over efforts to subpoena pediatric hospitals for sensitive data on minors prescribed drugs for gender dysphoria, instruct applicants that time is of the essence.

“Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their completed application as soon as possible,” as the financial incentives are “contingent upon the availability of funding,” states one of the two Civil Division vacancy postings—both of which offer the signing bonus.

A separate civil section focused on immigration litigation, which has been managing legal challenges to the department’s policies of swiftly deporting immigrants to countries unfamiliar to them and detaining noncitizens without offering bond hearings, promoted identical bonuses for new hires Monday.

“This Department of Justice is always looking for talented and qualified attorneys to advance President Trump’s priorities and protect the American people,” Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the Civil Division, said in a statement. “Under the leadership of Acting Attorney General Blanche, the Civil Division will continue to hire hardworking patriots from across the country and offer appreciation bonuses to our loyal attorneys who remain committed to our mission and upholding the rule of law.”

The Civil Division, consistent with other DOJ offices since President Donald Trump retook office, has struggled to replace a mass exodus of experienced lawyers.

This particular branch of the division, launched as part of DOJ reorganization last fall, has been deployed to probe medical providers nationwide over their gender care programs—an initiative that judges have thwarted by condemning the department for operating in “bad faith” or attempting to “intimidate and harass.” The office’s affirmative litigators last month sued New Jersey for providing in-state tuition to noncitizens, and recently the branch has played a hand in the Trump administration’s broader push to denaturalize Americans born overseas.

The denaturalization efforts are being led by the separate immigration litigation office that’s also started providing bonuses.

Shumate, whose division also defends executive branch regulations and policies that are challenged in federal court, wrote to his legal staff Monday that their retention bonuses would vary and be computed as a flat percentage of their salary.

“It has been my privilege to work alongside you over the past year,” he said in the email. “While I wish I could do more to fully express my appreciation for all that you do, I hope this incentive provides some tangible recognition of your efforts and the value we place on your continued service to the Civil Division.”

The bonuses come as the department in March revoked its longstanding requirement that newly hired prosecutors have at least one year of experience practicing law. The same Civil Division vacancies that entice applicants with extra money also note that new hires must have “up to one” year of legal experience, although there are openings at higher grade levels that demand more legal practice.

The Department of Homeland Security has offered similar signing bonuses for immigration enforcement agents.