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What is a Judicial Clerkship?
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A judicial clerkship is a post-graduate position with a judge in which the law
clerk works closely with the judge as an assistant handling his/her caseload.
A clerkship offers a unique opportunity for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a
judge’s chambers. |
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You will learn first-hand about what a judge looks for in deciding a case, which
will be incredibly valuable once you become a practitioner yourself. |
Role of a Law Clerk
A law clerk is the Judge’s second-in-command. The
law clerk is also the liaison between the judge and the attorneys/litigants.
The duties of a clerk include conducting legal research, drafting bench
memoranda for pretrial motions and advising the judge on resolution of these
issues, and drafting opinions. Law clerks may also be responsible for
various administrative and clerical duties.
Types of Clerkships
Clerkships are available on the federal and state
level. Possibilities include: U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Appellate,
Federal District Court, Federal Magistrate, State Supreme Court, State
Appellate, State trial level. Most clerkships are temporary in nature.
They last a term of one or two years depending on the judge. In
some instances, however, judges or courts will employ “career” or
“permanent” clerks.
The experience as a clerk varies greatly based on which
court you choose, or which court chooses you. Clerkships such as those
in the U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Appellate, State Supreme Court, and State
Appellate court are all appeals courts.
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There are no trials that take place. Only appellate arguments are heard.
Although these clerkships are prestigious, they are not as practical from a
litigation standpoint as most attorneys make most of their appearances at the
trial court level. |
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These clerkships are also very slow paced, as the issues are very complex and
require much research and analysis. At most, only about two hearings are
scheduled each day. This leaves a great deal more time to conduct research
and draft opinions. |
Trial level clerkships, like Federal District Court and
State trial level, however, are more fast paced and involve the nuts and
bolts of practice. You will see trials firsthand and learn the rules
of evidence in a practical form. Hearings are scheduled throughout the
day, especially at the state trial level. There is less time for
analytical thinking, but more emphasis on litigation skills and motion
practice.
Federal Magistrate clerkships are unique in that they
are at the Federal trial level, but do not involve many trials.
Instead, a federal magistrate is a judge paired with a Federal District
court judge and will handle most of the initial motion practice for the
Federal District judge. A Federal Magistrate judge, unlike other
federal judges, are not appointed for life. Rather, they serve a
defined limited term, like six or eight years. However, many Federal
Magistrate Judges are chosen to serve as Federal Judges based on their
experience.
What does a Judge Look For in an Applicant?
The short answer is: someone that the judge can get
along with for the next year or two. A judge’s chambers is very small.
At most there are only about five employees in the chambers between
secretaries, court reporters and law clerks. Thus, the personality of
the law clerk is critically important. A law clerk should be upbeat,
friendly, and courteous.
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In addition, other factors that a judge considers include: Law School attended,
GPA, writing ability, references, and the geographical location where the
applicant intends to settle after the clerkship. |
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Sometimes, one stellar performance in any category may overcome limitations in
other categories. For example, one judge hired a law clerk with a below average
GPA because he had a stellar recommendation letter from his supervisor at a
summer position that stated that the applicant was the best intern the
supervisor had seen in over 20 years! |
Should You Clerk?
If you are interested in litigation
and can afford to take a year at a reduced salary, you should absolutely
clerk. A judicial clerkship is a fantastic experience. Not only
will you be able to see the inner workings of the court room, you will
become familiar with the court surroundings and no longer be intimidated by
judges and clerks. You will have your judge as a mentor for the rest
of your career. Additionally, you will be part of a professional
network of the judge’s former law clerks, which will help you advance your
career.
Finally, and perhaps most important, a clerkship serves
as an excellent experience to add to your resume. Many law firms are
impressed by clerkship experience and will often favor those applicants
above others. Firms will reward former clerks by offering a clerkship
bonus and even credit the clerk a year on the partnership track for the
experience. For instance, if an attorney serves a one-year clerkship
following graduation from law school, the firm may hire the attorney as a
second-year associate following the clerkship.
What You Really Need to Know about Clerkships
- A clerkship only makes sense if
you are interested in Litigation. If you are interested in
transactional work, it is not worth your time to lose a year working at
a lower clerkship salary when you could be performing transactional
work.
- Federal clerkships are very
difficult to attain. You are competing against the top 10% at each
law school and a judge will usually hire only one clerk per year.
If you do not have stellar grades or come from a top 5 ranked law
school, securing a federal clerkship will be difficult. Also, remember
that a common trend nowadays is to work for a few years and then to
apply for clerkships. So you are now also up against applicants
who have work experience in addition to impressive resumes. If
that is the case, you may be served by being more realistic and applying
to state clerkships in the fall of your 3rd
year while everyone else is applying to federal clerkships. You
may get a jump on those applicants who are applying to state clerkships
only as a fall back after being denied a federal clerkship.
- Apply Broadly. As we’ve
said, securing a clerkship is very difficult. Apply to as many
judges and locations as you can afford. It does not matter how
many judges say no as long as you have at least one judge who says yes.
- Any clerkship is a valuable
experience, but only the federal clerkships are impressive to employers
out of state. So it only makes sense to apply to state clerkships
in states in which you intend to practice following the clerkship.
- Only attend the interview if
you are ready to accept the position. If a judge makes you an
offer, you have, at most, 24 hours to accept. Thus, if you intend to
apply to federal and state clerkships, be careful about interviewing for
state clerkships before you hear from federal opportunities.
- If you are deciding between two comparable
clerkship opportunities, remember that the two most important things in
choosing a judge are: (1) will the judge help you get a job following
the clerkship? (2) Will the Judge serve as a reference for you?
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