Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, School of Law
Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, School of Law
Charlottesville, VA
The University of Virginia School of Law seeks highly qualified applicants for the position of Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. This is a full-time, academic general faculty position on the teaching track.
The University of Virginia School of Law’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic is a yearlong clinic that introduces a select group of third-year law students to all aspects of U.S. Supreme Court practice through live cases. Since its launch in 2006, the clinic has represented parties in 18 United States Supreme Court cases, winning over half of them. The clinic has also filed 108 amicus curiae briefs and petitions for certiorari and briefs in opposition in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Working in teams and under the supervision of the director and a small team of experienced appellate attorneys, students work on all aspects of live cases. Through classroom instruction and hands-on work, they learn how to review cases and identify good candidates for Supreme Court review, and how to skillfully structure and write effective certiorari petitions, briefs in opposition to certiorari, merits briefs, and amicus briefs. Students also have the opportunity to assist with and attend moots for oral arguments, as well as attend Supreme Court arguments.
The director is responsible for managing the curriculum and operation for the yearlong clinic, including its classroom component. The director will teach, supervise, and provide feedback to clinic students in all phases of legal advocacy. The director will serve as counsel of record and argue some clinic cases. Usually, the director collaborates with appellate attorneys outside of the Law School with them serving as counsel of record and arguing other clinic cases. The director may also collaborate with the Law School’s Appellate Litigation Clinic. The director may be asked to teach non-clinical courses at the Law School as well. All duties will be performed within the broader and evolving experiential learning program at the Law School in coordination with the dean, vice dean, and Director of Clinical Programs.
For more information about the current Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, see Supreme Court Litigation Clinic | University of Virginia School of Law.
Candidates must have a JD degree from an ABA-accredited law school or a foreign equivalent with at least six years of appellate practice experience, including substantial experience in briefing cases before the United States Supreme Court. A commitment to teaching and student mentorship, as well as excellent writing, editing, supervision, and advocacy skills, is required. The ideal candidate will have significant advocacy experience in federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, involving a range of complex cases; law school teaching experience; and demonstrated professional engagement.
Candidates must have an active law license in a U.S. jurisdiction. They must also be an active member of the Supreme Court Bar or be admitted by the start of the position. Candidates who are not licensed to practice in Virginia should be willing to seek admission, presumably by waiver, to the Virginia bar.
The expectation is that the director would start in summer 2023 to begin teaching the clinic in the fall 2023 semester. Application review will begin December 5, 2022.
Apply online:
Upload the following materials at https://uva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UVAJobs (requisition number R0042016: cover letter, resume/CV, a detailed description of relevant law practice, teaching and supervision experience, and contact information for three references).
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The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System, which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physicians Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, is fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspective and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.