Law Clerk to Junior Associate Attorney
For law school graduates who want to build a career in complex litigation and learn how nuanced disputes are actually won.
Lieb at Law, P.C. is hiring law school graduates who are sitting for the July 2026 bar examination and want to begin their careers in a litigation-first environment. Successful candidates will join the firm in August 2026 as Law Clerks and transition into Junior Associate Attorney roles upon admission. This is not a document review position. This is not an administrative support role. You will work directly with attorneys on active commercial, employment, discrimination, real estate, regulatory, fiduciary, and appellate matters while learning how litigation evolves from initial client intake through resolution. The office is located in Smithtown, New York. The matters are often regional, statewide, and occasionally national in scope.
Learn Every Phase of Complex Litigation
The purpose of this program is simple: train future litigators.
You will not spend your first years practicing law in a silo or working on one isolated task.
Instead, you will gain exposure to every phase of litigation while working directly with experienced litigators.
Associates at Lieb at Law are expected to think.
That means learning how disputes are won through:
Understanding how rules, timing, jurisdiction, and posture shape litigation strategy.
Drafting arguments that are supported by authority, facts, and strategic purpose.
Building the record through discovery, testimony, documents, and admissions.
Adapting quickly when facts, deadlines, clients, courts, or opponents change the battlefield.
You are not expected to know everything on day one.
You are expected to be intellectually engaged, accountable, and hungry to improve.
What You Will You Do
This is substantive litigation work.
Depending on your experience, demonstrated competence, and the needs of the matter, your responsibilities may include:
Case Evaluation & Early Strategy
- Analyzing intake facts
- Identifying viable causes of action and defenses
- Evaluating venue, jurisdiction, procedural posture, and strategic filing considerations
- Assessing whether state court, federal court, arbitration, or administrative strategy is appropriate
- Identifying early leverage opportunities
Pleadings & Motion Practice
- Drafting complaints
- Drafting answers and affirmative defenses
- Drafting amended pleadings
- Researching novel or unsettled legal issues
- Drafting motions to dismiss
- Drafting summary judgment motions
- Drafting motions to compel
- Drafting motions for protective orders
- Drafting appellate briefs where applicable
- Revising legal strategy when stronger authority emerges
Discovery
- Drafting discovery demands
- Drafting responses and objections
- Drafting deficiency correspondence
- Subpoena strategy
- Document review and factual development
- Preparing discovery motion practice
- Supporting expert discovery where applicable
- Organizing factual records for dispositive motion practice
Depositions
- Witness preparation
- Support defending depositions
- Support taking depositions as readiness is demonstrated
- Deposition outline development
- Impeachment preparation
- Transcript analysis
Court & Advocacy
- Court conference support
- Hearings support
- Oral arguments support
- Arbitration appearance support
- Appellate support
- Trial preparation
- Evidentiary motion support
Not every case requires appearances. Not every attorney’s greatest strength is oral advocacy.
Opportunities are earned based on technical competence, preparation, reliability, and strategic readiness.
Regulatory & Strategic Legal Analysis
- Monitoring legal and regulatory developments
- Evaluating how changes in law impact active matters
- Applying legal developments to litigation strategy
- Assisting with compliance-driven legal analysis where litigation exposure overlaps with regulatory risk
The Types of Matters You Will Handle
Our matters may involve:
- Complex commercial litigation
- Breach of contract disputes
- Business tort litigation
- Partnership and ownership disputes
- Employment litigation
- Discrimination litigation
- Retaliation claims
- Whistleblower matters
- Wage disputes
- Real estate litigation
- Real estate brokerage litigation
- Commission disputes
- Regulatory defense
- Fiduciary disputes
- Arbitration matters
- Appellate litigation
No two matters are alike.
This practice rewards attorneys who care about authority, procedure, evidence, leverage, and the technical details that change outcomes.
How Collaboration Actually Works
Lieb at Law is collaborative by design.
We are not structured around a senior attorney issuing instructions into a vacuum while junior attorneys quietly execute.
Motion practice is collaborative. Strategy is collaborative. Case development is collaborative.
A partner may meet with a law clerk / associate to develop a motion strategy. The law clerk / associate drafts. That draft is saved contemporaneously in cloud-based systems that allow the legal team working on the matter to maintain visibility.
If stronger authority is identified, a procedural opportunity emerges, or a better strategic path develops, the team can intervene in real time.
That means legal strategy evolves actively.
Law Clerks and Associates who thrive here are not emotionally attached to being “right” about their first draft.
They care about getting to the strongest legal position. The goal is the win.
Technology & Modern Litigation Practice
Lieb at Law uses modern legal infrastructure, including secure cloud-based systems, AI-assisted workflows, and collaborative legal operations.
Technology may support:
- Legal research acceleration
- Document comparison
- Workflow coordination
- Deadline management
- Document analysis
- Knowledge retrieval
- Version review
- Litigation organization
AI does not replace legal judgment.
Strong litigators leverage technology intelligently while independently verifying legal authority, factual accuracy, procedural viability, and strategic implications.
Complex litigation is not boilerplate work.
Who Thrives Here
- You genuinely enjoy legal research
- Motion practice excites you
- Procedure matters to you
- You notice legal technicalities others miss
- You care where burdens shift
- You rethink arguments when stronger authority appears
- You enjoy factual analysis
- You want direct feedback
- You value strong teammates
- You are collaborative without ego
- You care about producing excellent legal work
- You want meaningful responsibility
- You are competitive about outcomes
- You see AI as a tool to master
This May Not Be the Right Fit If
- You prefer repetitive low-intensity file maintenance
- You dislike revision
- You become defensive about feedback
- You want highly predictable workflow
- You dislike active in-office collaboration
- You are uncomfortable shifting priorities quickly
- You prefer administrative litigation over substantive strategy
- You want remote-only practice
Qualifications
- Minimum 1 year of law office experience
- Juris Doctor (J.D.)
- Strong legal writing ability
- Strong organizational discipline
- Ability to manage deadlines responsibly
- Desire to build a career in litigation
- Comfort working full-time in-office in Smithtown
- Motion writing experience
- Discovery review experience
- Ability to pivot and adapt quickly
- Prior law clerk experience
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary range depends on litigation experience, demonstrated technical ability, and ability to contribute meaningfully to case outcomes.
Additional compensation: performance bonus tied to collections.
Benefits Include
- Health insurance
- 401(k)
- Paid time off
- CLE reimbursement
- Bar admission reimbursement
- Professional development support
- Long-term advancement opportunity
For the right law clerk / attorney, this is a real long-term growth path.
Apply
To apply, send your resume, cover letter, and writing sample to careers@liebatlaw.com.