This seminar is an academic class focused on three themes related to Public Interest Lawyering: ethics, federalism, and federal law and policy. The class is also designed to expose students to the wide array of career opportunities in Washington, DC. Each class will involve assigned reading and a guest lecturer. The semester begins by discussing what ethical rules apply to externs and federal employees, and students will attend a continuing legal education class. During the remainder of the semester students will explore issues of federalism (including state-federal-tribal issues) in the context of civil rights, energy law, criminal justice, national security, port security, and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Specifically, the course will address the role of lawyers in making federal policy and examine the forces that influence the work of policy making. Students will consider the various roles that think tanks, lobbyists, politicians, and federal agencies play in shaping policy debates, enacting laws, and implementing policy. Students will also examine the role that the government plays in creating law through enforcement and the role of litigants and judges in shaping the law, including at the Supreme Court.