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The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia invites applications for the position of Career Law Clerk for United States District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen. This position is available October 1, 2025, and is a permanent law clerk position rather than a term or temporary law clerk position.
05/23/2025 to 08/22/2025
$106,950 - $164,296 per year
This job uses the Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) pay scale.
JS 13 - 14
1 vacancy in the following location:
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Not required
No
Permanent - At-Will
Full-time - Monday to Friday
Excepted
14 - JSP-14, Full Performance Level
No
No
FY25-012
837600300
Law Clerk duties will include, but are not limited to, reviewing briefs and other case filings; performing legal research; writing bench memoranda; and drafting orders and opinions in a wide variety of civil and criminal cases. Administrative duties will include serving as principal administrative manager of chambers; reviewing the active case docket daily and drafting standard scheduling orders as necessary; training and assisting the term law clerks; and managing the judge's schedule. Exceptional writing and editing skills are required, and candidates with prior federal judicial clerkship experience will be preferred. Respect for the role of the judiciary and the rule of law is required.
Responsibilities
The Career Law Clerk manages a large docket of civil and criminal cases and has primary responsibilities regarding the drafting and finalizing of opinions and orders. This fast-paced "Rocket Docket" District demands excellent writing and analytical skills.
The successful applicant must meet multiple deadlines in a timely and organized fashion and must be able to produce written materials (i.e. orders, opinions, etc.) quickly and accurately. Flexibility to meet demanding deadlines and a concomitant strong work ethic are both required. Candidates must maintain a courteous and professional demeanor within chambers, the Court, and the Bar, and before the public.
Administrative Duties
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Please read the "Next steps" section for more information.
Cover Letter, Resume, law school transcript, AO78 Application, two writing samples.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Qualified applicants should submit one document in PDF format via e-mail to
Benjamin_Maxymuk@vaed.uscourts.gov and Madhuri_Belkale@vaed.uscourts.gov that includes the following:
Applicants selected for an interview will be asked to participate in a remote/zoom interview with the judge's staff and then a remote/zoom interview with the judge; successful candidates will then be asked to visit Norfolk for an in-person interview with the judge.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/837600300. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.