Southern District clerk Briggs to step down next year

Longtime clerk Laura Briggs of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana will retire from her post in mid-2020.

“I have loved it,” Briggs said Monday about her 21-year tenure as clerk, a post from which she expects to retire in May or June.

Briggs said she and her husband, Dave Brown, are looking forward to a retirement of traveling adventures.

“My dedication to the judges and the staff of the court and to the work of the judiciary is incredibly strong, so removing myself from that is difficult,” Briggs said. “However, once we started traveling in our motorhome a bit more, the power of the open road and camping in forests and near lakes overcame my dedication.”

Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson said the court would miss Briggs’ “keen intellect, high-functioning leadership, and indomitable spirit upon her retirement. That said, she has created a sound infrastructure for the operation of the court with respect to both quality personnel and effective technology. She will play a key role in the selection of her successor. The work of the Court will go on, and Clerk Briggs will enjoy a much-deserved combination of adventure and peace in this next chapter. We will wish our friend the very best when her retirement date arrives.”

Briggs worked at Barnes & Thornburg and in private practice for several years before taking a position as a pro se law clerk in the Southern District — a position now called staff attorney. When the prior clerk departed, Briggs said now-Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker encouraged her to apply, and she became clerk in March 1998. “The rest is stable employment history,” she quipped.

But Briggs also has developed a reputation as one of the leading district court clerks in the nation, and she brags on the local federal judiciary.

“It’s not a cliché to say we have the best court in country,” she said. “The collegial atmosphere among the judges, and the respect they give members of the clerk’s office staff, is simply unparalleled in my experience. Every one of the judges here is deeply committed to the work they do, and they’re equally committed to treating everyone — litigants, the bar, court staff – with respect.”

The clerk’s office also has, under Briggs’ watch, refused to concede to technology in one regard. Even though the office frequently receives phone calls from people confusing her office with the Marion County Clerk’s Office, a live person will usually be the first interaction a caller has. “I’m an opponent of a phone-answering system,” she said.

The district court is seeking applicants for Briggs’ successor through Oct. 21. Qualified candidates may apply here for the position, which includes a salary range of roughly $145,000 to $194,000, depending on experience.