Benchmark and talent information from the US Postal Service’s Law Department

I quote and comment on two extracts from the online brochure of the US Postal Service’s Law Department.

“Over 220 attorneys make up the Postal Service’s in-house ‘law firm.’ Led by a General Counsel appointed by the Postmaster General, the Law Department is composed of a corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 10 law offices strategically placed around the country.” The field offices together make up two-thirds of the Law Department’s complement. The US Postal Service has revenues that exceed $65 billion so it has a modest 3.5 lawyers per billion dollars of revenue (See my post of Feb. 16, 2009: FBI has 30 lawyers per billion of budget.).

“Attorneys with fewer than two years of experience are eligible for the Law Department’s Honor Attorney Program. This unique program provides mentoring and scheduled semiannual evaluations and salary raises. While in the Honor Attorney program, new recruits gain experience in a particular practice area. At Headquarters, the opportunity for exposure to other practice areas is available through workgroups and special assignments. At the end of the two-year period, attorneys are converted into the Attorney Compensation Schedule, in which they receive annual reviews and merit increases.” More frequent reviews and salary bumps as well as mentoring aims to help attract and retain good law students.