Term Law Clerk to Hon. Deborah M. Fine

Position Type: Full Time, Regular

Salary Range: $78,117 - $171,043

(Depending on qualifications and experience)

Job Grade: JSP 11 - 14

Open Date: October 9, 2026

Closing Date: December 17, 2026

Location: Phoenix, AZ

One Year Term beginning August or September 2027

The judicial law clerk to the Honorable Deborah M. Fine will perform substantive review, research and writing, and is responsible for preparing bench memos and orders on matters pending before the judge. The caseload in the jurisdiction is heavy, and deadlines demanding, requiring excellent writing and research skills as well as the ability to work efficiently and diligently to produce high quality legal documents.

This is an in-person work environment; remote work should not be expected.

• Standing within the upper third of the law school class from a law school on the approved list of either the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools.
• Experience on the editorial board of a law review of such school.
• Graduation from such a school with an LLM degree; or
• Demonstrated proficiency in legal studies, which, in the opinion of the judge, is the equivalent of one of the above. Some examples of criteria which are considered to be acceptable as equivalent include
• Publication of a noteworthy article in a law school student publication or other scholarly publication;
• Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif;
• Winning of a moot court competition or membership on a moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools;
• Participation in the legal aid or other law school clinical program sanctioned by the law school;
  * or
• Summer experience as a law clerk to a state or local judge or law clerk experience on a continuing basis in a private firm while attending school (i.e., working one’s way through college).*

* In order to receive credit, participation and experience could not have been for academic credit.

This list is not all-inclusive; the determination of an acceptable equivalence rests with the appointing judge.

a person must be a law school graduate, have one year of legal work experience performed after graduation from law school, be a member of the bar of a state, territorial, or federal court of general jurisdiction and have one or more of the attributes listed in the first paragraph under Minimum Qualifications.

a person must be a law school graduate, have two years of legal work experience performed after graduation from law school, and be a member of the bar of a state, territorial, or federal court of general jurisdiction and have one or more of the attributes listed in the first paragraph under Minimum Qualifications.

a person must be a law school graduate, have three years of legal work experience performed after graduation from law school, two of which must have been served in the federal judiciary. Qualifying legal work experience is experience in a court unit or federal public defender organization within the federal judiciary for which a Juris Doctor and membership of the bar of a state, territory, or federal court of general jurisdiction is a minimum qualification requirement, or as a Supreme Court Fellow.

Preference will be given to those applicants with bar admission and at least one year post-law school experience. Previous clerkship experience is highly preferred. Experience using Westlaw is preferred. An ability to meet deadlines while demonstrating legal writing of the highest quality is required.

Attachments should be submitted only as Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) documents. Other formats are not acceptable.

Applications will be considered complete when the online application and all required attachments (in proper format) are received by the Judge.

Applications and/or attachments received after the closing date may not be considered.

The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job…