Jps calculation 7 years experience Forum

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Tcaru2315

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Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by Tcaru2315 » Sat Jan 15, 2022 1:11 pm

I wil start a clerkship this summer after 7 years legal experience with JAG. Looking for info on how they will calculate my step and grade on the JPS. Thanks in advance

redinablue

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Re: Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by redinablue » Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:20 am

Could certainly be wrong, but likely not JS14, but at the very least JS13 at a very high step.

HowAppealing

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Re: Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by HowAppealing » Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:58 pm

It sounds like you will come in at JS 13-5.

Start at JS 11 with no experience. Move up a grade (i.e. 11 to 12) each year. Caps out at JS 14, but JS 14 is only available if at least two of your years of experience are as a law clerk or staff attorney with the federal judiciary.

You didn't mention a previous clerkship, so once we move to JS 13, we get into step increase. Relevant here, it is one year to increase steps until you hit JS 13-4, at which point it becomes two years to increase a step.

So, in total, seven years experience will get you to JS 13-5 (two years to JS 13, three years to JS 13-4, and two years to JS 13-5).

Tcaru2315

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Re: Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by Tcaru2315 » Sun Jan 16, 2022 7:11 pm

Thank you. This is super helpful! Is this written somewhere? The rules for step increase?

HowAppealing

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Re: Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by HowAppealing » Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:15 pm

Grade increase info can be found at https://oscar.uscourts.gov/qualificatio ... its#salary.

JS step increases work the same as GS step increases. GS step increase info can be found here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversig ... le%20grade.

Note that it says 1-year waiting period from steps 1 through 3 and 2-year waiting period for 4 through 6, but it means time to get an increase in that grade, not time to get to that grade.

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Re: Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 17, 2022 1:10 pm

HowAppealing wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:58 pm
It sounds like you will come in at JS 13-5.

Start at JS 11 with no experience. Move up a grade (i.e. 11 to 12) each year. Caps out at JS 14, but JS 14 is only available if at least two of your years of experience are as a law clerk or staff attorney with the federal judiciary.

You didn't mention a previous clerkship, so once we move to JS 13, we get into step increase. Relevant here, it is one year to increase steps until you hit JS 13-4, at which point it becomes two years to increase a step.

So, in total, seven years experience will get you to JS 13-5 (two years to JS 13, three years to JS 13-4, and two years to JS 13-5).
At least in my circuit, this amount of experience would qualify this person to start as JS-13-1. HR would not allow you to start at an increased step level regardless of how much additional experience you had. If you then clerk for multiple years, you get to increase one step level every year. (So a two-year clerkship would put you at 13-2 for the second year.)

Also, even if you are eligible for JS-14, the judge only gets one JS-14 clerk per chambers. So if there's an incumbent with that level of experience, you're out of luck.

Outis Onoma

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Re: Jps calculation 7 years experience

Post by Outis Onoma » Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:59 am

Chambers law clerk positions have special rules for pay setting to cut costs. New law clerks with non-federal legal experience can only be appointed at step 1. So, if there is already a js 14 clerk in place, the highest you can go is js 13/1.

However, for former federal employees, the judge has discretion to match your pay and place you at a higher step beyond step 1. I assume this applies to JAG. HR will likely not tell your judge this rule as they generally don’t try to maximize law clerk pay.

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