Litigation Reporter

ABOUT THE TEAM: As part of ALM’s global newsroom, the litigation team is focused on cutting edge legal issues, consequential court cases, emerging trends in litigation—and the lawyers, judges and other professionals who are part of that world. We cover geographic centers including New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta, and our team includes a mix of senior and more junior reporters working collaboratively with editors across the country. Our team is committed to quality journalism and innovative thinking as we cover this area for a demanding and sophisticated business audience.

The litigation reporter will be part of a global newsroom. While you will be based in the nation’s capital, your writing will reach audiences across the country and internationally. Specifically, the litigation reporter is expected to focus on cutting-edge issues in the courtroom, inside the most active plaintiffs’ side firms and Big Law litigation departments. We’re constantly looking to unearth emerging trends and reflect the state of the profession and business to lawyers, judges and adjacent professionals who are part of the litigation realm.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

You’d be covering the federal judiciary, Justice Department, and high-stakes court battles in Washington in a digital-first newsroom, primarily for the National Law Journal, as well as other ALM brands under Law.com, including The American Lawyer and The New York Law Journal. We need someone who loves talking to sources, knows how to mine a beat for scoops and can find insights in legal stories that are often well covered by mainstream news outlets. This is a high-profile assignment for a reporter who wants to write for a national audience.

Anticipated start date is January 8, 2024.

Responsibilities:

The litigation reporter will have a high-profile position and command a large, national and international, readership. The litigation reporter will develop their beat, looking at high-stakes “bet-the-company” cases and matters that affect industries such as pharmaceuticals, banking and financial services, Big Tech, as well as cryptocurrency, cannabis and the gig economy. The litigation reporter will also focus on coverage of personal-injury law firms in the region, Big Law litigation departments, litigation boutiques and do much of their work following cases in these courts:

Federal

Department of Justice
District of the District of Columbia
Eastern District of Virginia
D.C. Supreme Court
D.C. Superior Court—the main trial court of general jurisdiction

The litigation reporter will also be keeping an eye on the following appeals courts, reporting on decisions in conjunction with the national correspondent for U.S. courts of appeals:

U.S. District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

The litigation reporter will also be expected to report on national trends, litigation surges and trends in management of litigation departments, personal-injury firms and litigation boutiques.

The litigation reporter is expected to have regular face-to-face meetings with key litigation leaders in D.C. firms to keep abreast of trends in the industry and practitioners and judges in key courts to evaluate issues such as court backlogs and other administrative challenges.

In addition, the litigation reporter is expected to:

Produce breaking news stories on tight deadlines for readers in the Washington, D.C. and national markets
Develop sources, establish and broaden a base of industry contacts
Produce enterprise articles, including features and investigative pieces, while juggling daily news commitments
Work well in a team environment with colleagues based around the world
Average 5-7 stories per week, including at least one enterprise a week

Qualifications:

Demonstrated reporting and writing skills, especially for a business audience
Ability to develop ongoing source relationships
Good interviewing skills
Excellent organizational and communication skills
Able to work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment
Experience covering the legal industry a major plus
Must be able to write quickly but also be able to pivot and do enterprise stories and have a zest for a fast-paced environment
Must be team-oriented and have good communications skills
Must have degree in journalism, communications, English or similar background
At least two years journalism experience preferred, with preference to those that have demonstrated an ability to handle legal and business journalism
A self-starter but open to taking direction