Some U.S. Attorney’s offices have added “special” prosecutor positions that offer all the glamor of putting the nation’s lawbreakers behind bars — at no pay.

Belt-tightening has led some state and federal prosecutors’ offices to solicit volunteer prosecutors in an attempt to bolster office resources while avoiding budget strain.

And applicants are not fresh-faced interns. Hundreds of veteran attorneys have responded to applications with no compensation attached, giving up average starting salaries from $70,000 to $100,000.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia added an unpaid “legal fellowship program” to the ranks of its approximately 325-attorney staff last year. Benjamin Friedman, special counsel to U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen Jr., said the program has hired 10 to 12 fellows over its lifetime to handle low-level misdemeanor cases in the office, which manages a large caseload of local crimes.

In an interview, Friedman said the program has worked well for both the office and the volunteers.

“We get really good people” he said. “A lot of them leave paying jobs [to become fellows] because this is something they want to do — they want a career change or they want the trial experience.”

An informational flier on the office’s website says that “although uncompensated, Legal Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the same training and trial experience as any new Assistant United States Attorney.”

Friedman said the office has a long history of tapping special assistants for misdemeanor cases and, from the office’s perspective, the fellowship program is just one more way to find help.

However, he said the office tries to deter people simply looking for an in. Former fellows cannot apply for a job in the office within six months after finishing the program.

“We didn’t want to encourage people to work here for free in the hopes of getting a permanent job if that wasn’t realistic,” Friedman said. “We didn’t want to take advantage of people who didn’t have a job.”

The legal fellowship program emulates programs popping up nationwide, he added.

The U.S. Attorney office for the Northern District of Georgia also began receiving applications for volunteer prosecutor positions last fall. In an interview, First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn said nearly 40 applicants have expressed interest in four new unpaid positions within the past two months.

Horn hopes to hire the first volunteers in September, but unlike many other districts, he said the unpaid positions in Atlanta have nothing to do with budget troubles. He also said he does not anticipate his volunteers performing the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

“I hope to have them doing legal research and writing … working with U.S. Attorneys” he said “They would be working in a supportive role.”

Still, Horn said the advantages of taking an unpaid position pay off for those looking to make a career move as a prosecutor. When looking for a new hire, he said applicants with experience really jump out.

“From the perspective of a U.S. Attorney’s office, the fact that they’ve already done the work really gives an advantage,” he added.

Most of the jobs require a commitment of at least six months to a year.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Barry Borden told the USA Today that dozens of candidates have responded to his call for volunteers in the Marin County District Attorney’s office in California. He said he took the idea from a similar program started by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod Rosenstein.

“Many of the applications are from newly unemployed [law firm] associates, recent graduates and even a few who are currently employed,” Rosenstein told USA Today. “People who are applying see it as a stepping stone.”

Officials said that, rather than deter applicants, the financial downturn has lead many individuals to value the work experience offered by prosecutor jobs.

“I don’t see a downside,” executive director of the National District Attorneys Association Scott Burns told USA Today. “With the economy … and the fact that many lawyers are out of work, this is an opportunity to get experience to prepare them for the next step.”