Senior Motions Attorney

The Office of the Staff Attorneys is the court’s central legal staff. It includes approximately 20 staff attorneys, four supervisory staff attorneys (including the Senior Motions Attorney), a Chief Deputy Staff Attorney, and a Chief Staff Attorney, as well as an administrative manager and support staff.

The Motions Unit is a specialized team of five staff attorneys, known as motions attorneys, who make recommendations to the court about the disposition of substantive motions, including emergency filings. The motions attorneys conduct legal research, prepare memoranda, and draft proposed orders.

The Senior Motions Attorney heads the motions unit, managing its workflow and its personnel. He or she ensures that the unit consistently generates high-quality work product and timely submits recommendations to the court.

The Senior Motions Attorney reviews each matter upon its referral to the unit and either prepares a recommendation for the court or assigns another motions attorney to do so. When a movant is seeking emergency relief, the Senior Motions Attorney promptly determines whether the matter is truly emergent, refers it to a panel of judges, proposes a schedule, makes an initial recommendation, and implements the panel’s instructions. Emergency motions regularly require work outside normal business hours.

Additional responsibilities include, among other things:

• overseeing the hiring, training, management, professional development, and performance review of all motions attorneys;
• monitoring and reporting on Motions Unit procedures and work;
• coordinating with the Clerk’s Office on docketing and case processing matters; and
• fielding judges’ questions about substantive and procedural issues.

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is an equal opportunity employer. For a reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, contact Human Resources at (513) 564-7250.