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Job Description
Law Clerk to Judge Series, 3615 NYS Unified Court System - 4.1 Rensselaer, NY Job Details Full-time $89,338 - $130,061 a year 8 hours ago Qualifications Document quality checks Proofreading Bar Research findings presentation Full Job Description
UCS-23 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT STATE OF NEW YORK UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM PLEASE POST ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 3615 THE 3RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT, RENSSELAER SUPREME AND COUNTY COURTS ARE RECRUITING FOR ONE
(1)
POSITION IN THE LAW CLERK TO JUDGE SERIES. THE POSITION WILL BE FILLED IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TITLES AND WILL BE DEPENDENT ON THE QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF THE APPLICANT SELECTED. POSITION TITLE
LAW
CLERK TO JUDGE JG
24
BASE SALARY:
$89,338
QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from an accredited law school and Admission to the New York State Bar within eighteen (18) months of appointment.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF WORK
Law Clerks to Judge are responsible for researching and analyzing legal issues and questions and for providing other personal and confidential assistance to an individual judge or judges under direct supervision. Law Clerks to Judge are appointed by judges of all Supreme Courts, the Court of Claims, and in the following courts in accordance with staffing needs: County Courts with two (2) or more full-time judges or with one (1) full-time judge and combined annual filings of indictments and Supreme Court civil actions exceeding 650; and Surrogate's Courts with ten (10) or more non-judicial employees (excluding Chief Clerks and Judges' personal appointees). Law Clerks to Judge are personally appointed by the judge or judges for whom they work and serve at their pleasure.
POSITION TITLE
SENIOR
LAW CLERK TO JUDGE JG
26
BASE SALARY:
$99,490
QUALIFICATIONS:
Admission to the New York State Bar and two (2) years of relevant legal experience, including up to 18 months of pre-admission experience.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF WORK
Senior Law Clerks to Judge are responsible for researching and analyzing legal issues and questions and for providing other personal and confidential assistance to an individual judge or judges. Senior Law Clerks to Judge work with substantial independence from supervision and are appointed by judges of all Supreme Courts, the Court of Claims, and in the following courts in accordance with staffing needs: County Courts with two (2) or more full-time judges or with one (1) full- time judge and combined annual filings of indictments and Supreme Court civil actions exceeding 650; and Surrogate's Courts with ten (10) or more non-judicial employees (excluding Chief Clerks and Judges' personal appointees). Senior Law Clerks to Judge are personally appointed by the judge or judges for whom they work and serve at their pleasure.
POSITION TITLE
ASSOCIATE
LAW CLERK TO JUDGE JG
28
BASE SALARY:
$110,853
QUALIFICATIONS:
Admission to the New York State Bar; and One year of service in the Senior Law Clerk to Judge title; or Three (3) years of relevant legal experience, including up to 18 months of pre-admission experience.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF WORK
Associate Law Clerks to Judge are responsible for researching and analyzing complex and difficult legal issues and questions for individual judges. They also provide other personal and confidential assistance to an individual judge or judges. Associate Law Clerks to Judge are appointed by judges of all Supreme Courts, the Court of Claims, and in the following courts in accordance with staffing needs: County Courts with two (2) or more full-time judges or with one (1) full-time judge and combined annual fillings of indictments and Supreme Court civil actions exceeding 650; and Surrogate's Courts with ten (10) or more non-judicial employees (excluding Chief Clerks and Judges' personal appointees). Associate Law Clerks to Judge are personally appointed by the judge or judges for whom they work, and serve at their pleasure.
POSITION TITLE
PRINCIPAL
LAW CLERK TO JUDGE JG
31
BASE SALARY:
$130,061
QUALIFICATIONS:
Admission to the New York State Bar; and Two (2) years of service in the Associate Law Clerk to Judge title; or Five (5) years of relevant legal experience, including up to 18 months of pre-admission experience.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF WORK
Principal Law Clerks to Judge are responsible for researching and analyzing uniquely intricate, complex and sensitive legal issues and questions for individual judges. They also provide other personal and confidential assistance to an individual judge or judges. Principal Law Clerks to Judge are appointed by judges of all Supreme Courts, the Court of Claims, and in the following courts in accordance with staffing needs: County Courts with two (2) or more full- time judges or with one (1) full-time judge and combined annual filings of indictments and Supreme Court civil actions exceeding 650; and Surrogate's Courts with ten (10) or more non- judicial employees (excluding Chief Clerks and Judges' personal appointees). Principal Law Clerks to Judge are personally appointed by the judge or judges for whom they work and serve at their pleasure.
LOCATION
3RD
JUDICIAL DISTRICT RENSSELAER SUPREME AND COUNTY COURTS CLASSIFICATION
EXEMPT/CONFIDENTIAL
ASSIGNMENT
This position is assigned to the Hon. Noel Mendez located in Rensselaer Supreme and County Courts. Duties include but are not limited to: researching and analyzing legal issues and questions; drafting opinions, decisions, orders, jury charges, correspondence, and other written material; conferring with lawyers on unusual or complex proceedings and reviewing legal documents; reviewing and verifying citations; conferring with and advising the judge on legal issues; arranging the judge's calendar and scheduling meetings and conferences; and conducting discovery, pre-trial, and settlement conferences. Professional requirements include having at least 3-5 years of either civil litigation or appellate practice experience; be proficient in New York citation formatting and the "Tanbook"; have experience proof-reading complex legal documents; the ability to orally present research and findings to Judge in a cogent fashion, citing binding precedent; and the ability to pay attention to detail when analyzing matters for the Judge and presenting findings.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by persons assigned to this title. They do not include all job duties performed by employees in the title, and every position does not necessarily require these duties. Although a position is available and situated at a specific location, the appointee may be subject to reassignment to any position in the same title in this promotion unit dependent upon the needs of the Unified Court System. All applications received from this announcement may be used to fill any vacancies in this title that may occur in this court or agency within the next six (6) months. Position(s) available at the present time: 1 .
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
All interested persons meeting the minimum qualifications are encouraged to submit a UCS-5 Application for Employment form (obtainable from any administrative office in a court building or on the web at www.nycourts.gov/careers/UCS5.pdf), cover letter, resume, professional legal writing sample, 3-5 professional references, and unofficial transcript by email to or by mail to:
THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT OFFICE 2500 POND VIEW, SUITE 210 CASTLETON-ON-HUDSON, NY 12033 A PPLICANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO COMPLETE THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY DATA COLLECTION FORM. POSTING DATE
June 18, 2026 APPLICATIONS
MUST BE POSTMARKED OR RECEIVED BY
July 16, 2026 The New York State Unified Court System is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy and gender identity or expression), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, membership in an employee organization, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.
