Website: Where Will Your Legal Education Take You?: FBI Attorney

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Graphic by Alondra Pulido

Attorneys working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may serve one of several different functions, including working as a general attorney, a legal administrative specialist, or as a legal instruments examiner. As such, depending on the position, attorneys work may lean more towards litigation or transactional work, though many of the jobs involve an advisory role over proposed operations and investigations. FBI attorneys work closely with the Department of Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the White House. FBI attorneys may take on cases involving federal laws, and specifically in cases involving terrorism, civil rights, counterintelligence, public corruption, cybercrimes, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), organized crime, white-collar crime, and violent crime.

FBI attorneys have the opportunity to become a Special Agent, though, there are a number of eligibility requirements, including the completion of a physical fitness test (PFT). This test involves doing sit-ups for 1 minute, a timed 1.5-mile run, a timed 300-meter sprint, and doing as many pushups as you can without stopping. Applicants are granted three opportunities to pass the PFT. To help train applicants pass the PFT, the FBI as created the FBI PFT app, which is available from the App Store and Google Play.

There are a variety of employment qualifications to become an FBI attorney, just as there is for every position within the agency. One such requirement is that candidates may not have a history of engaging in acts designed to overthrow the United States government, for obvious reasons. FBI attorneys must also pass a urinalysis test, and cannot have defaulted on a federal student loan. Additionally, individuals required to register with the Selective Service System (the draft) must have done so.