The Prince William County Circuit Court Judges have a full-time Judicial Staff Attorney (JSA) position opportunity to perform professional legal services for the Judges and train and supervise judicial law clerks in their performance of legal services for the Judges. The work to be performed includes the reviewing of civil and criminal motions, researching whether matters are properly served and noticed, conducting legal research, and drafting legal memoranda, prospective civil orders, and legal opinions for the Court. The JSA will work within broad policy and organization guidelines established by the Circuit Court Judges. The Employee's function is necessary to ensure that the Circuit Court serves the public in an effective and efficient manner. The JSA must also exercise tact, courtesy, and discretion in frequent contact with attorneys, public officials and co-workers and the public. The JSA will report to the Chief Circuit Court Judge.
ABOUT THE ROLE
As the staff attorney your primary duties include overseeing the recruitment, in-processing, training, and out-processing of the judicial law clerks each year. Duties also include serving as the attorney assisting both recusal court judges and 3 rd party judge cases, as well as serving as the resident researcher and circuit court case historian.
This role serves as the Judicial Staff Attorney for the seven Circuit Court Judges.
This position will supply general supervision and support to the judicial law clerks. The Judicial law clerks have front-line responsibility for legal research and analysis of legal issues for the weekly motions docket of the judges, including:
1) checking each motion for compliance with procedural legal requirements
2) calling noncompliant lawyer/legal staff, to enable them to bring their motions into compliance before motions day
3) providing the judges with statutes and rules, for their review on simple legal issues
4) writing bench briefs involving legal research and analysis on complex legal issues
5) assisting with and attending motions arguments in court
6) drafting opinion letters for the judges as requested, and
7) periodic review of chambers internal policies
The judicial law clerks have initial responsibility to review a variety of orders, petitions, and motions, submitted daily to the judges, to address compliance with statutory and other legal requirements, and they respond to the parties or their counsel regarding such orders. Examples of cases requiring such orders are city tax sales, church petitions for appointment of trustees and acquisition or disposition of real property, adoptions, orders pertaining to support, custody, visitation, and disposition of marital property, rules to show cause and enforcement of prior orders, final divorce decrees, name changes, appointments of guardians ad litem, and garnishments.
The judicial staff attorney may be called upon to perform and will generally supervise the judicial law clerks in performing legal research and analysis of legal issues for habeas corpus petitions, including writing bench briefs, and drafting legal opinions regarding the same.
The judicial law clerks are to be generally supervised in preparing and/or reviewing proposed responses to correspondence received by the Judges and the Clerk of the Court from prisoners and/or their counsel including requests for sentence reconsideration, requests for approval of in forma pauperis status requests for documents, complaints, and other miscellaneous requests.
The judicial staff attorney may also be called upon to prepare civil support guidelines for Pendente Lite hearings.
The judicial staff attorney will (when needed), serve as the judicial law clerk for recusal cases and 3rd party judge cases.
Perform other duties as required.
MINIMUM EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school.
PREFERENCES
- Must be a member of the Virginia State Bar in good standing.
- License to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia is required and a minimum of 2 years of legal experience.
WORK SCHDULE
8:30pm - 5:00pm (an hour for lunch). 7.50 hours a day. (Telework is only available with the specific permission of the Chief Judge).
Special Requirements:
Admission to the Virginia State Bar.
STARTING SALARY RANGE:
$80,749.50 to $100,000.00
NOTE:
This is an at-will position that serves at the pleasure of the Circuit Court Judges.
The above position description is intended to represent only the key areas of responsibilities; specific position assignments will vary depending on the business needs of the department. To view the class description in its entirety, click here.
