Law Clerk Westmoreland County

PA Courts; United States; On-site; USD 52,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mandatory 9% pension contribution

Health insurance coverage

10 days vacation after year one

13 paid holidays

Two personal days per year

Job summary

Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania seeks a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge Justin M. Walsh to assist in family and juvenile court matters.

You will perform legal research, draft memoranda, and prepare opinions and court orders under supervision. You will observe proceedings, review transcripts, and discuss research findings with the Judge, supporting indigency determinations, pre-trial conferences, and weekly motions court.

Qualifications

• Graduate of an accredited law school with a license to practice in Pennsylvania or commitment to sit for PA Bar.
• Must maintain 12 hours of Continuing Legal Education annually as required by PA Supreme Court.
• Experience evaluating case law, statutes, motions, briefs, and case files.

Responsibilities

• Conducts legal research using appropriate tools, evaluating case law, statutes, motions, briefs, and case files.
• Supports courtroom operations and judicial chambers duties as needed.
• Handles confidential discussions and sensitive matters with the Judge.
• Assists the Judge with indigency determinations, pre-trial conferences, trial lists, and weekly motions court.
• Discusses research findings and legal issues directly with the Judge.
• Prepares, types, and edits opinions, orders of court, and other legal documents.
• Observes court proceedings, reviews testimony, reads trial transcripts, and examines exhibits.

Skills

Legal research

Legal writing

Courtroom support

Confidentiality

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Pennsylvania Bar admission or eligibility

Job description

Judicial Law Clerk for Judge Justin M. Walsh, who presides in family court and juvenile court in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

The law clerk will perform legal research and prepare legal documents.

Job Duties

• Conducts legal research using appropriate tools, evaluating case law, statutes, motions, briefs, and case files.
• Supports courtroom operations and judicial chambers duties as needed.
• Handles confidential discussions and sensitive matters with the Judge.
• Assists the Judge with indigency determinations, Argument Court, Pre‑trial conferences, trial lists, and weekly motions court.
• Discusses research findings and legal issues directly with the Judge.
• Prepares, types, and edits Opinions, Orders of Court, and other legal documents.
• Observes court proceedings, reviews testimony, reads trial transcripts, and examines exhibits.

Minimum Requirements

Graduate from an accredited law school with a license to practice law in Pennsylvania or a commitment to sit for the Bar Examination in the state of Pennsylvania at the next available opportunity. Required by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to obtain twelve hours of Continuing Legal Education credits annually in order to maintain a license to practice in Pennsylvania.

Benefits

• Mandatory 9% pension contribution, pension vests after 5 years, employees may contribute up to 19%.
• Employees may opt in for health insurance coverage, prescription drug coverage, dental and vision for themselves or families through a paycheck deduction.
• 10 days vacation accruing after the first year. Additional days accrue as employment years accumulate.
• 13 paid holidays and two personal days per year.

Salary information

$57,259.00 per year

A clerkship with a Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas judge offers a caliber of legal education that no classroom can replicate. From your first weeks as a law clerk, you will be immersed in a behind‑the‑scenes look at court operations, often with exposure to the broad spectrum of cases on the court's docket – civil and criminal, family, trust and estates, motions and trials, as well as appeals. You will draft opinions, conduct legal research on novel questions, observe witness examinations and jury voir dire, and work in close collaboration with a sitting judge (if there are open positions, you will find them on the left).