Law Clerk III

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund ("VCF") was created to provide compensation for any individual or personal representative of a deceased individual who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001 or the debris removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes. The original VCF operated from 2001- 2004. In 2011, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 was signed into law and reactivated the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund in October 2011. In December 2015, the Fund was reauthorized for five additional years. More information about the VCF can be found at https://www.vcf.gov/.

Claims Reviewers works with DOJ claim review leadership to perform the initial review of claims for eligibility and/or compensation, with a focus on Fast Track claims, Eligibility determinations, and non- economic loss awards. More experienced Claim Reviewers may develop an expertise in a particular type of claim, subject area, or serving as a resource for the broader team. The Lead has successfully demonstrated all requirements of the Claims Reviewer I and II positions, and has been tasked with at least several of the following additional responsibilities:

• Reviews non-economic claims, including wrongful death claims, PI-to-Deceased claims,
• Provides opinions and presents arguments to DOJ staff, including the Special Master, on specific cases to showcase/illustrate the decision-making process given the circumstances of specific claims.
• Helps manage policy updates, VCF FAQs, and Standard Operating Procedures as required by the needs of the program change. Creates and finalizes DOJ standard operating procedures and workflow process policy for review and approval by Special Master. Implements and presents training, to others include peer reviewers as well as the client attorneys and team.
• Serves as the principal attorney for resolution of assigned claims that often involve unique and very difficult legal questions, or factual issues.
• Reviews claims that require evaluation and interpretation of one or more of the following, which require a high order of original and creative legal judgment and effort to obtain a reasonable balance of conflicting interests: application of statutes, laws and regulations.
• Peer reviews recommendations from other attorneys and contractors to ensure compliance with law and policy, completeness and persuasiveness of analysis, and consistency across the universe of decisions. Provides appropriate feedback as part of peer review process.
• Evaluates any claim seeking non-economic loss to determine whether the claimant is eligible for such and award and which losses the claimant suffered are attributable to his or her 9/11- related injury and, thus, are eligible for compensation by the VCF.
• Identifies and assesses, consistent with statutory and regulatory requirements, whether claimant received compensation from collateral sources of these losses that are properly offset from any VCF award.
• Produces a concise, well-written, logically structured written recommendation for a compensation award, explaining the factors considered, the determinations made in assessing the record and assigning values, any available options, and a justification for the recommendation for consideration and adoption by VCF officials who exercise final authority on compensation determinations.
• Formulates opinions, makes recommendations, and may proposes alternative processes they develop based on the unique cases, to the Special Master about the appropriate disposition of claims, including the amount of loss that should be awarded, a task which involves substantial analytical skill, substantive knowledge of VCF legal authorities and policies, excellent judgment, and the ability to demonstrate both compassion and fairmindedness when evaluating the individual circumstances of each claimant in the broader context of the VCF as a whole.
• Identifies the need for, formulates, and presents training on policy issues and issues arising within individual claims or in groups of claims to both claim review staff and VCF's operational components (helpline, intake, correspondence, quality review, reassessment teams, and appeals scheduling).
• Works independently with the oversight of the Lead Project Manager but primarily interfaces with the client to accepts assignments.
• Assigned special projects - examples include serving as law firm SME for claimant portal issues, serving as a liaison for Federal Law Enforcement/FBI claims, serving as a liaison with Survivor community, etc.
• Activities in support of Appeals process:
  • Provides support for the appellate process if a claimant appeals an eligibility denial or seeks to challenge the amount of the award.
  • Identifies the questions presented by the appeal, analyzes the appellate issues to make a preliminary recommendation, suggests which appeals should be converted to amendments, and/or formulates questions for the Hearing Officers to ask at the hearing.
  • May prepare bench memos for the Hearing Officers in advance of the hearing and may review post-hearing submissions, including transcripts and hearing exhibits.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain MRPT facility credentials/authorization. Note: US Citizenship is required for MRPT facility credentials/authorization at this work location.

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