The Office of Vaccine Litigation, U.S. Department of Justice is currently seeking law students for a limited number of part-time Winter/Spring volunteer (unpaid) law clerk positions. Please feel free to forward this announcement to interested students or post the announcement in your job posting database (simplicity, etc.).
Volunteer/Unpaid Law Clerks, Winter/Spring 2014
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Torts Branch
Office of Constitutional and Specialized Torts
Office of Vaccine Litigation
Washington, DC
About the Office: The Vaccine Litigation Group represents the interests of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in all cases filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. The cases involve claims of injury as a result of the receipt of certain vaccines.
Responsibilities and Opportunity Offered: The Vaccine Litigation Group is currently seeking law students for a limited number of part-time Spring 2014 volunteer (unpaid) law clerk positions. We will be accepting applications for full-time summer volunteer clerkships beginning November 4, 2013.
Law clerks work closely with attorneys and paralegals on substantive matters in all stages of litigation. Indeed, the position offers a unique experience in public service. The legal and medical issues at stake in each case vary greatly. Attorneys and staff in the group handle heavy case loads, and while streamlined procedures are utilized, cases frequently involve complex liability and damages issues. The Group is obliged to ensure that the Vaccine Trust Fund, from which damage awards are paid, is protected and, where eligibility criteria are met, that fair compensation is distributed to those whom Congress has intended. Attorneys appear frequently before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which affords law clerks the opportunity to gain experience in trial and appellate practice.
More information about the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program can be found athttp://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/.
Law clerks should be able to start on or about January 7, 2014, or sooner, and be able to commit 12-20 hours a week, for approximately 12 weeks, to the office. Interested candidates may be offered the opportunity to continue their service into the summer.
Qualifications: Applicants should have excellent academic credentials, writing, and interpersonal skills, exhibit good judgment, and have an interest in health care litigation. Experience in medicine is strongly preferred but not required. 1L, 2L, 3L, 4L evening students are eligible for the positions. Unfortunately, graduates are ineligible for the positions.
Salary: The positions are unpaid.
Location: Washington, DC.
Application Process and Deadline Date: Application materials must be postmarked or e-mailed by the deadline date of November 15, 2013. The Office begins interviewing for position in September and, at the latest, October, so early applications are encouraged. Please reference Vacancy Announcement #2-VLC-WS14 in your cover letter. Applicants should send a (1) cover letter, (2) resume, (3) transcript, (4) writing sample, and (5) a list of three references, preferably by e-mail (in PDF format), to:
Debra Filteau Begley, Esq.
Co-Director, Law Clerk Program
Office of Vaccine Litigation
Torts Branch, Civil Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 146
Washington, D.C. 20044
No telephone calls please.
Online posting: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-opp.html#civil-vac
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