UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

Position Title: Senior Staff Attorney

Location: St. Louis Missouri

Salary Range: JSP-16 TO JSP-17 ($177916 - $236699) depending on qualifications

Opening Date: February 9 2026

Closing Date: Open until filled Applications will be considered starting March 9 2026

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is accepting applications for the position of Senior Staff Attorney.

Position Overview

The Senior Staff Attorney is an executive position appointed by the Chief Judge with the approval of the Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 715. The Senior Staff Attorney oversees the Eighth Circuit Staff Attorneys supervising a staff of 23 attorneys (including 4 supervisory staff attorneys) and 3 support personnel. The primary responsibility of the Senior Staff Attorney is to ensure the high quality of all substantive legal work performed by the staff addition the Senior Staff Attorney has administrative responsibility for all aspects of the offices operations including but not limited to human resources management recruitment and training budget preparation and fiscal oversight procurement management establishing and managing systems and processes and statistical reporting.

About the Eighth Circuit Staff Attorneys

The Eighth Circuit Staff Attorneys support the Court as a whole rather than individual judges. They assist the Court in its review of decisions appealed from district courts and federal government agencies primarily in matters that will be decided by the Court on written submissions only without oral argument including all pro se appeals. The staff attorneys principal task is preparation of written legal memoranda. The types of matters on which staff attorneys assist include: direct criminal appeals of convictions and sentences imposed under the United States Sentencing Guidelines; collateral attacks on criminal convictions by state and federal prisoners; civil rights actions brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983; and cases involving a variety of other areas of law such as employment discrimination tax bankruptcy immigration and Social Security benefits. Staff attorneys play an important role in supporting the federal judiciarys mission of ensuring equal justice under the law. The Eighth Circuit Staff Attorneys do so by maintaining high standards for the research and written work performed for the Court. While the nature of the work is important and the workload is substantial the office provides a collegial collaborative environment.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must have (1) a Juris Doctor degree from an ABA accredited law school; (2) membership in good standing in the bar of a state territorial or federal court of general jurisdiction; (3) at least ten years of progressively responsible experience in the practice of law in legal research legal administration or equivalent experience received after graduation from law school; (4) excellent academic credentials and superior analytical research and writing skills; (5) excellent written and oral communication abilities and strong interpersonal skills with an ability to assume and delegate responsibility.

Preferred Qualifications

In addition to the minimum qualifications any of the following will enhance a candidates suitability for the position: (1) a thorough understanding of organizational procedural and interpersonal aspects of managing a complex organization; (2) expertise in federal appellate civil and criminal procedure and evidence and an informed understanding of the processes of constitutional and statutory analysis; and (3) a minimum of three years of federal court experience.

Conditions of Employment

Applicants must be U.S. citizens. All employees of the Judiciary are at will employees in the excepted service. The U.S. Courts require employees to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees which is available to applicants for review upon request. Employees are required to use the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) for payroll deposit.

The successful candidate will be subject to a ten-year background investigation and employment will be contingent upon a favorable suitability determination. Subsequent reinvestigations will be required every five years.

Employee Benefits

The following benefits are available for this position: Health Insurance Dental and Vision Insurance Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Long-term Care Insurance Flexible Benefits Program (health and dependent care) Thrift Savings Plan Federal Employees Retirement System Federal Holidays Paid Vacation and Sick Leave.

Applicant Procedure

Qualified applicants must submit each of the following to be considered:

• A detailed cover letter
• A detailed resume outlining education background and employment and salary history
• Law school transcript
• Self-edited writing sample of no more than five pages
• Contact information for three professional references

Submit materials to:

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. The court reserves the right to amend or withdraw the job announcement without written notice to applicants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals is an equal opportunity employer.