Court law clerks will be primarily responsible for legal research and the preparation of draft orders and opinions. They may assist on a wide variety of challenging and complex civil and criminal cases that come before the Court. Although court law clerks may not necessarily work within any individual judge's chambers, their duties will be ultimately supervised by one or more federal judges, and their work product will be heavily relied upon.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must be United States citizens or eligible to work in the United States.
• As a condition of employment, the selected candidate must successfully complete a background check with law enforcement agencies and a check of financial and credit records. All offers of employment are provisional until a full suitability determination has been made.
• The selectee for this position is subject to a criminal record check and satisfactory adjudication by the employing office to be eligible for employment. Due to the sensitivity of this position, candidates may be asked about their criminal history prior to receiving a tentative offer of employment. Candidates completing Form AO-78 must complete questions 18-20 regarding their criminal history. Criminal history is not in itself disqualifying. All available information, past and present, favorable and unfavorable, about the reliability and trustworthiness of an individual will be considered when making an employment suitability determination. Providing false and/or misleading information may be grounds for removal from the application and selection process, as well as disciplinary action if discovered after an individual's date of hire.
• The Federal Financial Reform Act requires direct deposit of federal wages for Court employees.

Qualifications

Applicants must not only be a graduate of a law school of recognized standing, but must also have an excellent academic record, a demonstrated proficiency in writing and legal analysis, and an ability to produce outstanding work product efficiently and under demanding time pressures. The successful candidate must have also passed the bar and acquired bar membership before their start date. To qualify for the JSP 13 level, the candidate must have at least two years of legal work experience. Legal work experience means progressively responsible experience in the practice of law, legal research, or legal administration or equivalent experience received after graduation from law school.

Preference will be given to applicants with prior judicial law clerk experience, as well as those who have served on the editorial board of a law review. The job responsibilities require interaction with judges, attorneys, and other law clerks or chambers staff. The ability to work independently and communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, is critical. Applicants must also have excellent interpersonal and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple tasks in a timely manner.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and evaluate your relevant professional, educational, and work experiences as it relates to fundamental competencies, identified in the Qualifications section above, required for this position.

1. Form AO-78, Federal Judicial Branch Application for Employment
2. Cover letter addressing qualifications and relevant experience.
3. Chronological resume including education, employment, and salary history.
4. Legal writing sample not to exceed 10 pages and not heavily edited by others.
5. Law school transcript.
6. List of references.

Next steps