Direct job posting Open until filled; interviews will begin immediately.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington is seeking qualified candidates from all backgrounds for the positions of Career and Term Law Clerk for incoming United States District Judge David G. Estudillo in Tacoma, Washington. The start date for these positions are pending Judge Estudillo’s appointment and is anticipated to be no sooner than October 15, 2021. These positions are full-time (80 hours per two-week period).
Law Clerks work closely with the Judge on civil and criminal litigation filed in District Court. Law clerks conduct research and prepare drafts of opinions and orders and will have the opportunity to work on various long-term projects, be involved in courtroom proceedings, and assist in the development of a judicial extern program. The Career Law Clerk will also be responsible for administrative duties in chambers, will assist in running chambers, and will assist in oversight for externs.
Candidates must be law school graduates from an accredited law school; be organized and work well independently; possess excellent research and writing skills; be experienced with Word, Westlaw, or Lexis, and related software; and must have a demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive work environment. Candidates for the Career Law Clerk position must have at least two years prior federal judicial clerkship experience or three years litigation experience.
Candidates for the Term Law Clerk position must have either one year of federal clerkship experience or one year of litigation experience.
Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) Grade 11 – 14, depending on experience, qualifications, and bar membership.
Salary range: $70,821 to $155,062 annually, full-time
The U.S. District Court provides a generous benefits package, competitive salary, ORCA transit pass and a dedication to work/life balance, including flexible schedules and telework opportunities. All law clerks are eligible for health and life insurance benefits, long term care options, annual and sick leave accrual, and eleven paid holidays per year. Career law clerks are eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Retirement System and Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401K). Judiciary employees are not covered by the Office of Personnel Management’s civil service classification system or regulations. For additional information on employment with the federal courts, please visit www.uscourts.gov.
Qualified applicants should submit the following:
A letter of interest
A current resume
A response to the Statement of Qualifications, below
A minimum of three professional references. Applicants with prior clerkship experience should include contact information for all judges for whom the applicant has clerked.
A writing sample that is five to ten pages in length
A completed AO78, Application for Employment Via e-mail (Word or Acrobat .pdf format) to: seattle_personnel@wawd.uscourts.gov or to: U.S. District Court Attn: Human Resources 700 Stewart Street, Suite 2218 Seattle, WA 98101 The Statement of Qualifications must be 12-point font, single-spaced, minimum one-inch margins, and no more than three pages.
Please address the following:
Experience with issues of cultural competence, sensitivity to and understanding of diverse socioeconomic, gender identity, sexual orientation, abilities, and ethnic backgrounds of people in our community.
Experience and education outside the legal profession and how they enabled or encumbered your career and personal growth.
Management and leadership experience.
Explain why you think who you are will be compatible with Judge Estudillo as a person and as a judge. Please use the publicly available information to respond to this question.
If applying for a career law clerk position, why do you want to be a career law clerk?
Only qualified applicants will be considered for this position. Applicants must be United States citizens or eligible to work in the United States. Employees of the United States District Court are considered “at will” employees. Applicants selected for interviews must travel at their own expense. The United States District Court requires employees to follow a code of conduct which is available upon request. Reference checks with current and former employers will be conducted on top candidates. A background investigation with law enforcement agencies, including fingerprint and criminal record checks, will be conducted as a condition of employment. Any applicant selected for a position will be hired provisionally pending successful completion of the investigation. Unsatisfactory results may result in termination of employment. The Federal Financial Management Reform Act requires direct deposit of federal wages.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals and seek a diverse pool of applicants in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, disability, religion, and socio-economic circumstance.
The Court provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please notify human resources. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be made on a case by case basis.
The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, to withdraw the announcement, or to fill the position sooner than the closing date, any of which may occur without prior written or other notice. If a position becomes vacant in a similar classification, within a reasonable time from the original announcement, the court may select a candidate from the applicants who responded to the original announcement without posting the position. More than one position may be filled from this announcement.