Description

The West Virginia Attorney General's Office welcomes applications from recent law school graduates (graduation years 2017-2022) and all lawyers finishing a clerkship for a fellowship in the Solicitor General’s group.

The Position

Fellows will serve 2-year or 1-year full-time terms based on interest and the Office’s needs. Anticipated start dates in summer 2022. All fellowship positions are based out of scenic Charleston.

Excellent research and writing skills are required. Although we encourage all qualifying candidates to apply, we are particularly interested in seeing applicants with:

• Federal or state clerkship experience;
• Substantive experience in appellate or administrative law, whether in public or private practice;
• Excellent law school grades;
• Membership on a law review or journal; or
• Participation in moot court, mock trial, or similar law school advocacy programs.
  
  

The fellowship program is designed for lawyers interested in gaining substantive appellate litigation experience in a practice group focused on federalism and the role of state litigants in state and federal courts. Primary responsibilities will include drafting appellate party and amicus briefs, dispositive motions, and administrative comments; drafting Attorney General opinions; and researching and providing strategic advice on high-profile matters to the Attorney General and other constitutional officers. The fellowship may also involve oral argument opportunities in the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, as well as formal and informal training opportunities throughout the fellowship.

The Solicitor General Group

The SG group focuses heavily on national matters involving constitutional law, statutory interpretation, administrative overreach, and other significant issues for the State. Right now, for example, the group is actively challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s overreach in a landmark case before the Supreme Court (West Virginia v. EPA), pushing back on an improper federal attempt to limit state tax powers in a pending appeal before the Eleventh Circuit (West Virginia v. Treasury), litigating First Amendment issues before the Fourth Circuit (Recht v. Morrisey), and supporting efforts to more appropriately define the reach of the Clean Water Act (Sackett v. EPA).

As the SG oversees all appeals involving the State of West Virginia and state officers, the group also works closely with lawyers across the entire Office. Its docket spans a variety of subject areas, both civil and criminal. The group practices at all levels in state and federal courts, including before the U.S. Supreme Court, and attorneys take significant responsibility for their matters and contribute at highly substantive levels. Fellows can expect similar appellate, administrative, and general litigation opportunities as they work with the Attorney General, SG, and other members of the SG group.

The Application Process

Applicants should submit their resume, two writing samples, three professional references, and a cover letter to jobs@wvago.gov no later than May 23, 2022. The subject should indicate “Bolton Fellowship.”

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1. Bolton Caldwell was a true Mountaineer and champion of the rule of law. He served as West Virginia’s first and fifth Attorney General. A graduate of Harvard Law School and former U.S. Attorney, state prosecutor, and West Virginia circuit court judge, Caldwell shepherded the Office of the Attorney General through its earliest years following West Virginia’s creation as a State. Caldwell and his brother are also credited with ensuring that Ohio County remained in the union at the outbreak of the Civil War – making the city of Wheeling a part of West Virginia today.