Petitions and Calendar Clerk

About the role

This position is located in the Petitions and Calendar Section, within the Case Services Division and reports directly to the Petitions/Calendar Supervisor. The employee is a member of the section responsible for processing electronic and paper petitions and preparing orders and other legal correspondence pertaining to cases litigated before the Tax Court.

This is an At-Will position. Please see Additional Information for full summary.

What you will do

• Review and analyze petitions filed and documents received by the Court to ascertain adherence to Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure to initiate a case.
• Ensure appropriate tax case designations (e.g., regular, small) and issue orders as needed.
• Effectively and efficiently use the Court's case management system, DAWSON, to enter petition information with precision and attention to detail to ensure the case caption, addresses, case type, place of trial, and other relevant data is accurate and complete.
• Strong ability to learn and effectively use software applications such as the Court's case management and electronic filing system, DAWSON.
• Skill in Microsoft Word, Adobe, Outlook, or other comparable software applications.
• Knowledge of legal terminology.
• Knowledge of and skill in applying court rules of practice and statutory provisions such as the Internal Revenue Code as they pertain to the operations of the court.
• Apply appropriate filing fees and confirm that petitions have been amended appropriately.
• Enter orders as required and process related case documents.
• Process returned mail and take appropriate follow-up actions.
• Prepare service documents and maintain related records.
• Assignments require skill in preparing and delivering briefings to managers when novel or unusual petitions are identified, when patterns are noted, or other anomalous activity is observed while processing petitions.
• The work principally involves dealing with problems and relationships of a procedural nature rather than the substance of Court operations.
• The work requires the employee to evaluate documents to determine if they are legally sufficient, conform to the Court rules, and are proper case filings.
• Prepare and maintain the Court's trial calendars.
• Issue Notices of Trial along with Standing Pretrial Orders and/or Notices, and 30-day trial reminder notices.
• Serve various change notices when any aspect of the trial has changed.
• It is essential that the petition and calendaring functions of the Court be processed accurately, timely, and in an efficient manner.
• The processing of petitions affects not only the internal operations of the Court, but also the taxpayer petitioning the Court.
• As employees are processing petitions, they analyze and identify problems and work-flow issues that could be improved for greater efficiencies.
• Recommendations should result in increased productivity and efficiency in Court operations.
• Personal contacts are with employees of the Court as well as with case parties, their counsel, and the general public.
• The purpose of contacts is to give and receive information related to the filing of a petition and calendaring of Tax Court cases.
• Managers must be advised of any program related issues or concerns.
• The employee will also be instrumental to the calendaring operations of the office, which includes preparation and issuance of the trial term calendars, and may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Ability to do sedentary work with normal amounts of walking and standing Ability to work in a team environment and/or independently Possesses excellent communication skills Possesses excellent interpersonal skills Possesses excellent time-management skills Professionalism, integrity and a positive can-do attitude Demonstrated experience in positions requiring strong attention to detail

How you will be evaluated

Applicants will be evaluated based on your background and experience.

Documents you must provide

• Resume (not to exceed two pages) Cover letter

What to expect next

The Hiring Manager and Supervisor will schedule a virtual and/or in-person interview with the applicants who will be considered for this position.

Additional information

This position is located in the Petitions and Calendar Section, within the Case Services Division and reports directly to the Petitions/Calendar Supervisor. The employee is a member of the section responsible for processing electronic and paper petitions and preparing orders and other legal correspondence pertaining to cases litigated before the Tax Court.

The employee is also responsible for the calendaring work that includes reviewing eligible cases for accuracy and completeness, preparing necessary orders, and issuing Court calendars for trial sessions.

Relevant experience includes progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position.

This is a career ladder position in a one-grade interval series, with GS-9 as the full performance level for petitions/calendar clerks who are regularly supporting both petitioning and calendaring functions. This is also an At-Will position. After a probationary period of one year, this position will be Telework eligible.