Staff Attorney

About the role

The primary purpose of the position is to review the record developed in the lower court, the briefs filed by appellant litigants, conduct legal research, and write memoranda for the appellate panel regarding assigned cases on appeal to the Appellate Court of Maryland. The position involves substantial legal research, analysis, and writing; requires the ability to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Review the Circuit Court record and the briefs filed in the Appellate Court by the parties.
• Conduct legal research on issues raised by the parties to the appeal and on any other issues relevant to the disposition.
• Draft memoranda for the appellate panel summarizing the relevant facts and analyzing the issues on appeal and any other legal issues necessary for the panel to reach a decision.
• Other duties as assigned, such as reviewing complex motions, screening cases, reviewing applications for leave to appeal and drafting memoranda related thereto.

Requirements

• Education: Juris Doctorate and a member in good standing of the Maryland Bar.
• Experience: Two (2) years legal work experience to include legal research, analysis, and writing.
• Prior appellate experience, judicial clerkship, or other related experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of: Maryland legal resources (statutes, rules, regulations, case law) and the appellate process sufficient to prepare memoranda for a panel of the Appellate Court for use in rendering a disposition of the appeal.
• Skills in utilizing word processing programs (e.g. Word) to draft memoranda and proposed orders for judges and appellate panels.
• Use of legal research tools (e.g. Lexis/Westlaw and library resources) to conduct legal research on issues presented for resolution on appeal.
• Citation formatting using standard citation references (e.g. Bluebook).
• Independently write concise and clear legal analysis with grammatical precision.
• Ability to recognize and summarize facts relevant to the issue(s) on appeal; analyze legal issues in relation to the facts of a particular case; conduct legal research; work independently with minimal supervision.

Benefits

The Maryland Judiciary offers a generous benefit package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, paid time off, paid holidays, tuition assistance, continuing education programs, employee assistance programs, and State Retirement and Pension plans.