Just as this year’s crop of law school graduates hits the job market, the Cobb County district attorney’s office has started an apprenticeship program in conjunction with Emory University School of Law’s trial practice center.

The unpaid apprenticeships are a way for aspiring prosecutors to get a foot in the door in a grim job market while helping the office cultivate top talent for the future, said Don Geary, Cobb’s chief assistant district attorney.