Supreme Judicial Court Job Opportunity
Reporter of Decisions The application period for this position opens August 22, 2023. This posting shall remain open until filled, but candidate assessment will begin on September 12, 2023.
Please apply as directed under “Application Requirements” and not through the MassCareer Portal.
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT MISSION STATEMENT:
To promote the rule of law and foster public trust by leading an independent judiciary that assures every person equal access to the fair, timely, and impartial resolution of disputes in courts managed with efficiency and professionalism.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Reporter of Decisions oversees the preparation and publication of decisions of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) and Massachusetts Appeals Court to form a published body of decisional law. The SJC seeks an individual with excellent legal editing and writing skills, as well as personnel and project management experience, to serve in this statutory position. See G. L. c. 221, • • 63-68.
MAJOR DUTIES:
- Plans, organizes, and directs the analysis, editing, and publication of all decisions and other materials of the two appellate courts for daily, weekly, and final release
- Performs editorial and technical review of judicial opinions in preparation for publication, including drafting the headnote that accompanies each reported full opinion and explains, for professional readers, each point of law treated by the court
- Advises the SJC and Appeals Court on proper citation style for all court opinions and oversees the maintenance and updating of the style manual for the court
- Consults with the author of an opinion on questions of legal or editorial concerns and responds to technical inquiries from judges and other appellate court personnel
- Periodically advertises for bids for the execution of the printing and binding of the Massachusetts Reports and the Massachusetts Appeals Court Reports; negotiates and awards the contract to such bidder as the interests of the Commonwealth may require
- Establishes and monitors office procedures for the furnishing and revising of manuscripts to the private publishing contractor; supervises the contractor’s performance of its contractual obligations, including editing, marketing, sales, inventory, customer relations, and payment of royalties
- Recruits, hires, trains, and supervises attorneys comprising the staff of the office of the Reporter of Decisions
- Plans, organizes, and directs the posting of content to the portion of the court’s website dedicated to the office of the Reporter of Decisions
- Develops internal policies and written procedures for the office of the Reporter of Decisions
- Performs other duties as required, including compilation of lists of cases for consideration at consultations and oversight of the Thorndike library collection of print legal resources and the SJC’s electronic legal research contracts
SUPERVISION:
The Reporter of Decisions is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Justices of the SJC, see G. L. c. 221, • 63, and also reports to the SJC’s Executive Director.
SALARY:
This position is grade Executive Management, with a salary range of $136,980.29 (step 1) to $194,099.85 (step 8).
Application Requirements:
Each candidate must submit the following: (1) cover letter; (2) current resume; and (3) a completed SJC Employment Application and Addendum.
Applications for employment and the addendum to the application are available online at https://www.mass.gov/doc/supreme-judicial-court-application-for-employment-with-addendum .
All materials should be submitted by e-mail to Blanca Tosado at blanca.tosado@jud.state.ma.us .
The posting shall remain open until filled, but candidate assessment will begin on September 12, 2023.
The Supreme Judicial Court is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Qualifications:
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
- J.D. degree from an accredited university
- Membership in the Massachusetts Bar, or admission to the bar of another state and commitment to becoming a member of the Massachusetts Bar within a reasonable time
- At least ten (10) years of experience analyzing, writing, and editing legal documents
- At least (5) years of experience in the practice of law preferred
- Demonstrated experience in personnel and project management
- Experience with application of information technology systems to the editorial process, including ability to use a variety of word processing applications and a thorough knowledge of document management, typography, proofreading, layout, and document formatting, as well as a familiarity with conversion of print documents into electronic versions for online publication
Demonstrated ability to:
- devote meticulous attention to matters of technical legal detail
- work independently, collaboratively, and in complete confidentiality
- communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
- develop and maintain effective professional working relationships
Familiarity with Massachusetts civil, criminal, and appellate procedure
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT:
By statute, only persons who are residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may serve as employees of the judicial branch.