The White House announced an initiative to recruit lawyers to work in the federal government amid an exodus of legal talent since President Trump took office.
The Office of Personnel Management launched the Attorney Talent Network to connect attorneys with federal agencies nationwide.
The website will let attorneys upload searchable resumes, receive job notifications and be alerted to hiring events.
OPM Director Scott Kupor said the new website will help connect the federal government with attorneys across the country by “making it easier for legal professionals to engage with federal recruiters.”
He added in a statement Thursday, “We are strengthening the federal workforce and advancing our mission of public service.”
The website comes as thousands of lawyers have departed the federal government through firings and resignations. Some attorneys were let go as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s effort to shrink the federal workforce. Others resigned in protest of administration actions.
Roughly 8,600 licensed attorneys left the federal government between Mr. Trump’s inauguration and the end of 2025, according to OPM data. Though some job losses were offset by new hires, the departures resulted in a net decline of 6,524 legal jobs in the federal government.
Until last year, the largest net decrease in federal government legal jobs was 389 lawyers in 2022.
The Justice Department lost a net 8,900 employees last year, OPM data revealed. That included 2,526 Justice Department lawyers who retired or quit and 261 who left via force reductions.
Many of the lawyers who departed the federal government appeared to end up in private practice. In 2025, the 200 largest law firms by gross income hired 1,129 lawyers who worked in the federal government earlier that year, according to data from Firm Prospects, which compiles legal industry hiring statistics.
