Court Law Clerk

Court Name/Organization: District of New Jersey Overview of the Position: The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey is seeking a court law clerk for the period of Dec. 30, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2026. The Judicial Conference created the court law clerk program to facilitate case resolution in high-workload courts by providing additional law clerks to district courts with exceptionally heavy caseloads. The chief judge is the appointing authority for all law clerk positions. If hired, the position may be extended beyond Sept. 30, 2026, depending upon the needs of the office and funding. The selected court law clerk will be working primarily with one active district judge in the Trenton vicinage unless modified by the chief judge but may be called upon to perform work for other district judges as needed. Location: Trenton, NJ Opening and Closing Dates: 09/23/2024 - Open Until Filled Appointment Type: Permanent Classification Level/Grade: JSP 11 - JSP 13 Salary: $85,236 - $157,934 Link to Court Careers Information: http://ajis.njd.uscourts.gov/application/(S(3mgcl4apu4rm1kxy5pwvsnxf))/default Announcement Number: 24-13 Link to Job Announcement

Position Description

Responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Draft legal memoranda and proposed opinions and orders for review by the district judge, including motions for summary judgment and motions to dismiss

• Conduct legal research as required

• Monitor dockets to assure proper progress of cases

• Provide information, guidance and advice to the district judge relating to pending civil and criminal matters

• Provide procedural information to litigants and counsel

• Perform case management and other duties associated with the administration of cases

• Perform other duties as assigned, including attending court hearings, as needed

The caseload in the jurisdiction is heavy, and the types of cases presented are varied, often involving novel and complex issues of the law. The position involves daily communication with the judge and other court staff concerning legal and court-related issues.

Qualification

JSP 11 - JD degree only.

• JSP 12 - One year of legal work experience post JD and bar admission
• JSP 13 - Two years of legal work experience post JD and bar admission

Ideal candidates are law school graduates who have:

• A strong academic background, and demonstrated research and writing ability

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to work effectively with a variety of people in person, on the phone, and via email

• Excellent organizational skills and experience handling multiple tasks and projects

• Ability to work with strict deadlines and in a fast-paced environment

• Maturity, good judgment, and high ethical standards

• Ability to work independently or as a team player, with a positive work attitude

Note: The outside practice of law is prohibited except as provided by the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees.

Specialized Experience

Prior federal clerkship experience, standing within the upper quarter of law school, superior analytical ability and strong legal research and experience on the editorial board of a law review or law journal preferred.

Benefits

To learn more about the Judiciary's benefits, visit this website.

Miscellaneous

Conditions of Employment

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or eligible to work in the United States. This is a highly-sensitive position, thus selected candidate must undergo a higher-level background investigation conducted by the Office of Personnel Management. A background check is also required which includes a fingerprint and a criminal record check. Any applicant selected for a position will be hired provisionally pending favorable suitability determination of the background investigation.

Information for Applicants

Where appropriate, the court provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please notify Human Resources at the Clerk's Office 609-989-2084. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

The court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement or to withdraw the job announcement, or to fill the position sooner than the closing date, if a closing date is shown, any of which action may occur without any prior written notice. The court will only communicate with those qualified applicants who are selected for an interview. If a subsequent vacancy of the same position becomes available within a reasonable time of the original announcement, the court may elect to select a candidate from the original qualified applicant pool.

Judiciary employees serve under excepted appointments and are considered "at will" and can be terminated with or without cause by the court. All information provided by applicants is subject to verification and false statement or omissions of information on any application materials may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment or dismissal after being employed. This position is subject to mandatory electronic fund transfer (direct deposit) for salary payment.

Court law clerks are not eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS/FRAE) or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Court law clerks with this Excepted Temporary Appointment(s) are not covered under the Leave Act.

How To Apply

Qualified applicants must submit electronically (1) a cover letter and (2) an updated resume and (3) salary history (external applicants only) to the attention of Robin A. Newman, Esq., Human Resources Manager, via this website.

The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.