Judicial Clerkships
Overview
The term "judicial clerkships" refers to a one or two year long position in which a law student graduate assists a judge with his/her work. The judicial clerk researches questions of law, writes legal memoranda, and analyzes cases and statutes. For obvious reasons, judges generally place great importance on the applicant's abilities in writing, research, and analytical thought. Most judges see law review membership or other writing experience as an advantage, but some may not make it an absolute requirement.
Many legal employers see judicial clerkship experience as a very desirable qualification and actively recruit judicial clerks for positions to begin at the conclusion of the clerkship's term. Some employers will even defer the post-graduation start date for a student to whom they've extended an offer of employment in order to allow the student to accept a clerkship.
For the clerk, a judicial clerkship is a unique opportunity to see how the judicial process works from the inside. Such an experience can greatly enhance the clerk's ability to represent future clients, to create persuasive oral and written arguments, and to effectively present a case in court. As mentioned above, many clerks find that their time as a clerk makes them quite marketable and aids in their future job search.
Who hires judicial clerks?
In Nebraska, the Federal District Court Judges, the U.S. Magistrates, U.S. Bankruptcy Judges, Nebraska Court of Appeals and Justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court all hire judicial clerks. Te members of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals hire clerks as do local District Court Judges. Because many of the Nebraska judges have chosen to hire career clerks, it is usually a very competitive process to fill the few open slots.
Who should apply for a judicial clerkship?
These positions are highly competitive and usually require an excellent academic record. However, not all positions require membership on law review or that an applicant fall within in a certain percentage of his/her law school class. In general, state court trial clerkships are usually less competitive than the appellate levels and state clerkships in general are less competitive than federal positions.
Students should pay close attention to criteria listed on particular job postings. When contacting courts who have not detailed their criteria, students should emphasize grades (either as a whole or in a specific class such as Legal Research and Writing), moot court experience, or prior relevant work experience (such as research assistant for a professor). Students should NOT self-select out of the process because they are unsure that they will make the grade requirement.
When do you apply for a judicial clerkship?
Traditionally, the application process for a judicial clerkship begins early. Many judges used to begin reviewing applications in the early fall of a student's second year of law school for clerkships that begin after graduation! In an effort to curb this, the federal judges got together and hatched “The Plan.” Under “The Plan” federal judges agreed not to begin reviewing resume and applications until after Labor Day of a law student’s third year. Although many federal judges now follow these rules, it is voluntary and not all do. It is important to research the individual judges you are interested in clerking for to find out what rules they are playing by. A good guide is that unless you are responding to a job posting that lists a specific deadline date for applications, you should begin your search in the fall of your second year of law school.
How do you apply for a judicial clerkship?
The application process for most clerkships is straightforward. Generally, you will need to submit a cover letter, resume, writing sample(s), transcript, and references. There is a relatively new system for on-line applications that many federal judges are using exclusively. For details about this system and other application hints come to the Judicial Clerkship Panel in the fall or the spring program designed to go over the nuts and bolts of the application process. Before anything, however, I recommend that you read through the Judicial Clerkship Guide.
