2024 Attorney Honors Program

The Attorney General’s Office is committed to protecting and serving the people and interests of Rhode Island through a broad range of duties. To advance its wide-ranging mission and recruit exceptional new attorneys to its team, the Office has established an Honors Program for recent law school graduates and newly admitted lawyers who are committed to a career in public service. Each year, talented new attorneys will be selected for a one-year, full-time fellowship at our Providence offices, where they will gain valuable experience while serving the people of Rhode Island as vital members of our team. Upon completion of the program, the participating attorneys may have an opportunity to seek continued employment with the Office. Attorneys will be selected for the Honors Program based on their commitment to public service, academic and intellectual ability, leadership qualities and experience, and relevant legal or policy experience. Honors Program attorneys will serve in the Office’s Criminal Division and Civil Division:
•Criminal Division: Nearly every prosecutor in the Office begins their service to the State by immediately heading to the courtroom—where they are given the opportunity to handle their own caseloads and hone their skills as a prosecutor. As they gain experience, and through rigorous and continuous training, professional development, and mentorship, they earn the opportunity to move up the prosecutorial ranks to handle more serious and complex cases. Similarly, Honors Program attorneys selected for the Criminal Division will gain incomparable courtroom experience working alongside the Office’s newest prosecutors by prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases in Rhode Island District Court, the Rhode Island Family Court, and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal. During their fellowship, they will also have the opportunity to support the Criminal Appellate Chief and the Criminal Division Chief with complex legal matters and special projects.
•Civil Division: The Civil Division defends the State through its Government Litigation Bureau and brings litigation and other initiatives through the Public Protection Bureau. In the Government Litigation Bureau, the Civil Division leads litigation on behalf of the state, counsels the Attorney General and other government officials, and performs a range of regulatory duties. The Public Protection Bureau, recently created within the Civil Division, is comprised of four units –Healthcare, Consumer and Economic Justice, Environmental and Energy and Civil & Community Rights. Honors Program attorneys selected for the Civil Division will have an opportunity to contribute to a wide range of matters and opportunities across the Division’s bureaus and units—based both on the needs of the Division and the interests of the selected attorney.