Appellate Specialist

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in Washington, D.C. office, the Appellate Specialist will be responsible for supporting attorneys in our Appellate and Constitutional Law practice group.  This role is ideal for a legal professional with a strong background in appellate procedure, exceptional writing and research skills, and a passion for supporting complex litigation at the appellate level.  Working under attorney supervision, you will have the opportunity to work on high stakes cases with a dynamic legal team.

This role reports to the Manager, Paralegal Services.

Responsibilities include:

• Reviewing, formatting, revising, and finalizing appellate motions, briefs, petitions, and other filings in the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts.
• Drafting routine procedural motions and other documents to be filed in appellate courts.
• Cite checking, Bluebooking, proofreading, and preparing tables for motions, briefs, petitions, and other court filings.
• Preparing appellate records and appendices, including compiling and reviewing trial court documents and transcripts.
• Electronically filing motions, briefs, appendices, and other documents with the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts.
• Conducting legal research on appellate procedures.
• Monitoring deadlines and ensuring compliance with court rules and filing requirements.
• Coordinating with attorneys, paralegals, and court personnel to facilitate smooth appellate processes.
• Assisting with preparations for oral arguments, including creating case and briefing binders.
• Tracking developments in appellate law and providing updates to litigation teams.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of court rules, procedures, and practice requirements for the United States Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals and district courts, and state courts of appeals.
• Expert/superior knowledge of the Bluebook and the cite checking process.
• Experienced with AI tools such as Claude, Harvey, ChatGPT, CoCounsel, Gemini etc.
• Excellent organizational skills and a strong attention to detail.
• Flexible and able to multi-task, balancing priorities and tight deadlines.
• Proactive and able to efficiently handle multiple projects and client matters simultaneously.
• Must possess strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Superior analytical and reasoning abilities.
• Prepares and timely submits timekeeping reports.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with members across multiple offices.
• Flexibility to work overtime and weekends, based on department needs is required.

Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree required; JD preferred.
• 10+ years of relevant experience preferred.
• Understanding of common litigation practices, procedures, regulations, and workflow.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook), Adobe Acrobat, and iManage.
• Proficiency in Lexis Nexis and Westlaw.
• Expertise with PACER and CM/ECF.

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.

Compensation & Benefits:

The annual compensation range for this position is $115-160k. The salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

Benefits offered for this position include health care; retirement benefits; paid days off, including sick time, and vacation time; parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; as well as discretionary, performance-based bonuses.