The appointee to the position will come to the position with prior experience in complex commercial litigation; prior trial or bankruptcy law experience is helpful but not necessary. The appointee will perform duties in the chambers of the judge overseeing the ongoing PROMESA debt restructuring proceedings for Puerto Rico. Although adjustment plans have been confirmed for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and certain of its instrumentalities, significant additional litigation work continues. The appointee will independently conduct legal research on complex matters, including issues of first impression, as well as on a wide range of issues coming before the Court, review and monitor case records/filings, draft proposed opinions, memorandum decisions, and orders, provide objective analytical and procedural advice to the judge, chambers staff, and court staff, provide information to attorneys and parties in interest, and have significant case management, and some staff management, responsibilities.

Representative duties include:

• Perform initial procedural and substantive review of submissions to determine proper course of action.
• Research and analyze complex legal issues and communicate results orally and in writing.
• Review pleadings and briefs and prepare draft orders, memoranda, or opinions resolving requests for relief.
• Keep up with developments in the law of the circuit and the district and bankruptcy courts, as well as with national and territorial legislative, executive branch, and administrative actions, and update judge and chambers colleagues on such matters.
• Develop specialized expertise in insolvency and governmental debt matters.
• Ability to travel regularly to Puerto Rico as required.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents seeking U.S. citizenship. In order to be compensated with appropriated funds for a position within the continental United States, applicants must be: (1) U.S. citizen, (2) Lawful permanent resident (i.e., green card holder) who is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. §1324b(a)(3)(B). Note: Some noncitizen applicants who are permanent residents may not yet be eligible to apply for citizenship at the time they begin. Such individuals may still lawfully be employed if they provide an affidavit indicating that they intend to apply for citizenship when they become eligible to do so.
• All employees, interns and volunteers are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees available for public review on the USCourts.gov website.
• The successful candidate for this position is subject to a background check.
• This position is subject to mandatory electronic funds transfer for payment of net pay.

Qualifications

• Level Minimum Experience Requirements: CL-29 -Two years of specialized experience, including at least one year equivalent to work at CL-28; and Admission to practice before the highest court of a state, territory, commonwealth, or possession of the United States. CL-30 -Three years of specialized experience, including at least one year equivalent to work at CL-29; and Admission to practice before the highest court of a state, territory, commonwealth, or possession of the United States. CL-31 - Four years of specialized experience, including at least one year equivalent to work at CL-30; and Admission to practice before the highest court of a state, territory, commonwealth, or possession of the United States.
• SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Progressively responsible experience in the practice of law, in legal research, legal administration, or equivalent experience, gained after graduation from law school. The following may be credited as one year of specialized experience: Graduation in the upper third of class from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools; Membership on the editorial board of a law review of such a school; *Graduation from a law school on the approved list of the American Bar Association or that of the Association of American Law Schools with an advanced degree (LLM or equivalent); or Demonstrated proficiency in legal studies which, in the opinion of the appointing official, is the equivalent of the above.

The applicant must be intellectually curious and have an aptitude and willingness to work with complex procedures and legal and financial concepts. The applicant must possess excellent organizational, collaborative, leadership, and time management skills, sound judgment, and an ability to maintain all chambers work interactions and work product confidential. The applicant must also display strong analytical and research abilities, and exhibit excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate detailed and complex information to others. A thorough knowledge of Adobe Acrobat and MS Office applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is also required.

Given the time sensitivity and complexity of the workload, the applicant must be capable of working quickly at a high level of sophistication and accuracy, be available to work on a flexible basis, and have a work history reflecting dependability. The ability to work a full-time schedule and additional night and weekend hours on a regular basis as needed is necessary.

Successful candidates are likely to have had substantial prior legal practice and/or clerkship experience. Law review or moot court experience is desirable; knowledge of the Spanish language would be helpful.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants will also be evaluated based on their application and interview.

• Resume
• Legal analytical writing sample
• Cover letter
• Law school transcript
• Three written professional and/or academic references.

Next steps