About Oath
The City of New York’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is the nation’s largest administrative tribunal, holding approximately 400,000 trials and hearings a year. As the City’s central, independent administrative law court, OATH adjudicates a wide range of matters filed by nearly every city agency, board and commission. OATH also houses the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution which provides mediation and restorative justice support to City government agencies and the general public, and the Administrative Judicial Institute, a resource center that provides training, continuing education, research and support services for administrative law judges and hearing officers.
Job Description
The OATH Trials Division seeks to hire one Law Clerk to provide legal research and writing support to the OATH Administrative Law Judges. The Law Clerk will provide this research and writing assistance in relation to all matters that come before the OATH tribunal. The Law Clerk may also be designated by the Chief Administrative Law Judge to conduct pre-trial settlement conferences in certain proceedings.
Specific Duties Will Include, But Are Not Limited To
- Performing legal research related to statutory and regulatory issues, including review of state and federal court caselaw and OATH Trials Division precedent;
- Writing summaries and analyses of parties’ legal arguments, presentations of facts, and exhibits;
- Reviewing parties’ legal arguments, presentations of facts, and exhibits and writing legal memoranda and draft reports and recommendations and memorandum decisions, including decisions on motions, for review by the Chief Law Clerk and Administrative Law Judges;
- Holding case conferences as needed and as assigned by the Chief Administrative Law Judge and ALJs;
- Participating in group meetings and discussions with other Law Clerks and the Administrative Law Judges;
- Maintaining an organized docket of assignments and meeting deadlines assigned by the Administrative Law Judges and the Chief Law Clerk, and producing work timely at highest quality and on time; logging assignments and updating spreadsheets when assignments are completed;
- Proofreading and cite-checking draft reports and recommendations and memorandum decisions;
- Engaging in correspondence and communications with attorneys, agency representatives, and pro se respondents as needed;
- Drafting OATH Trials Division monthly newsletter, BenchNOTES, and summarizing cases for that newsletter and for other publications, such as The New York Law Journal, and updating and uploading cases for publication in the CityAdmin online legal research library and Lexis;
- Maintaining and updating electronic case files and updating cases to databases as required;
- Maintaining confidentiality of information kept by OATH as required by law and policy;
- Acting as a liaison among the parties, the OATH Calendar Unit, and Administrative Law Judges in Contract Dispute Resolution Board matters, including by scheduling conferences and oral arguments and drafting outlines to help the Administrative Law Judges prepare their cases; tracking casework, progress, and resolution of cases; reviewing submissions, drafting legal memoranda, organizing conferences and oral arguments, and communicating with parties, the Chairperson, and panelists;
- Assisting with Loft Board case administration, assigning cases, and assisting judges with notices, decisions, orders, and tracking casework, progress, and resolution of cases;
- Responding to requests for information regarding OATH records, transcripts, and other materials maintained by OATH;
- Handling additional special assignments and projects as needed, including but not limited to oral and/or written presentations and updating internal databases and guides, as well as drafting and editing legal training materials, website entries, and case and rule annotations online.
Law Clerks will work under supervision of the Chief Law Clerk and with the Administrative Law Judges on specific assignments, with latitude for independent initiative and judgment.
HYBRID OFFICE / REMOTE WORK SCHEDULE AVAILABLE AFTER INITIAL TRAINING PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE NEEDS OF THE TRIBUNAL
Minimum Qualifications
- Admission to the New York State Bar; and either "2" or "3" below.
- One year of satisfactory United States legal experience subsequent to admission to any state bar; or
- Six months of satisfactory service as an Agency Attorney Interne (30086).
Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.
In Addition To Meeting The Minimum Qualification Requirements
To be assigned to Assignment Level (AL) II, candidates must have one year of experience at Assignment Level I or two years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment. To be assigned to AL III candidates must have two years of experience in Assignment Levels I and/or II or three years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment.
Preferred Skills
Preferred Skills: Preference will be given to candidates who can demonstrate excellent writing, legal research, analytical skills and an established interest in administrative law. Strong oral communication skills, including the ability to liaise with internal staff and external stakeholders. Knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. Knowledge of legal and court case management software such as Law Manager is a plus.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.
Residency Requirement
New York City Residency is not required for this position
Additional Information
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.
