Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships
Author:
Strauss, Debra M.
Edition:
3rd
Copyright Date:
2023
32 chapters
have results for Behind the Bench
Chapter Three A Collection of Clerkship Opportunities 54 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Although trial court clerks play a key role in the courtroom, they also do a great deal of behind-the-scenes work. In evaluating substantive motions, the law clerk reads the briefs, conducts independent research, performs legal analysis and writes memoranda for use by the judge (a “bench memo” which typically sets forth facts, issues, case law and a recommended disposition for the motion). Note that some judges resolve these motions from the bench in an oral decision based in large measure on this work of the law clerk, while others prefer to issue a written opinion, which the law clerk assists in drafting as well. In some chambers, the law clerk writes the first draft of a decision, with or without some initial guidance from the judge, who later edits and revises the draft; some judges prefer to write their own draft first, and have the law clerk review and edit the judge’s writing. The continual editing of the written work by both law clerk and judge can prove to be an exciting...
- Throughout the process, most judges work closely with the clerks on a daily basis, discussing the bench memos, the draft opinions, and the general direction of the cases. In the trial court clerkship, a judicial clerk gains tremendous exposure to and participation in every aspect of trial practice and technique, making this an unparalleled experience in the litigation process.
- Although there are reduced contacts with the litigants and less court exposure, a law clerk can, through observation, gain knowledge of the techniques of oral argument and a greater appreciation for the record. Typically, the appellate clerk helps to prepare administratively for oral arguments, including bench memos summarizing the briefs, analyzing the legal issues, and suggesting questions for the judge to raise or key points needing clarification by the attorneys at oral argument. Much of the clerk’s time is later spent in extensive research and drafting of the final rulings.
- In the trial court, the law clerks are exposed to all aspects of each case. In addition to the above list, they are involved in evidentiary hearings and both non-jury and jury trials. With the law clerk always by the judge’s side, the range of tasks for bench (non-jury) trials includes assessing the credibility of witnesses and the evidence, preparing findings of fact and conclusions of law, and drafting or editing final orders. For jury trials, the law clerk will prepare questions for the jury voir dire at the beginning of the trial and the jury instructions for the end of the trial, researching and advising the judge as well on whatever evidentiary issues come up on the spot in the course of trial. During the trial, the law clerk may act as a courtroom clerk, with or without the deputy clerk, marking exhibits, keeping trial minutes, handling (but not swearing in) the witnesses, and just plain watching the dramatic events of the trial. Indeed, there is a great deal of daily contact...
- An appellate clerkship tends to be a continuation of the law school experience in many ways. The experience is more academic and reflective. The law clerk performs exclusively a research kind of function, writing opinions and bench memoranda on the issues of law being appealed. More time is spent on each case, exploring the case law in detail and crafting a somewhat scholarly exposition of the ruling. The facts are limited to those in the trial court record and those in the briefs of the parties; as a result, there is almost no contact with the attorneys. With no courtroom exposure except during the limited times of oral appellate argument, the focus of the work takes place exclusively in chambers or in the library. Thus, the experience can be isolating but is also more sedate, slower in pace and less hectic, without the constant interruption and juggling of a wide variety of tasks present in the trial court clerkship. There are generally fewer matters and more time, but higher...
- Open Chapter
Chapter Eight Interviews, Offers, Acceptances, and Alternate Outcomes 133 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Does the judge believe in all written opinions or does he or she make oral decisions from the bench? This will affect the workload (more if all opinions are formally written) and pace of work (faster and more intense if bench memos must be of a level that the judge can rule from the bench) for the law clerk.
- Then there are those who return to clerking again and again as an alternative to other forms of practicing law. I found interesting the story of Patricia DeJuneas, who pursued three successive clerkships—first in state appellate court, then in federal court for a Magistrate Judge, after practicing in a law firm and government work for two years in between, and next for a judge in a District Court across the country. Reflecting upon the issue of clerking years out of law school, she had this to say: “I have enjoyed both clerkships tremendously and found them to be VERY different experiences . . . The variety of cases and issues keeps the job very interesting and challenging even though I’m now four years out of law school. I think that having had the opportunity to practice for a couple of years has made this experience much more valuable to me than if I came here right out of law school.” After being in law practice, she appreciated the fact that clerking at the trial court level...
- Most law schools will tell you not to turn down a clerkship offer from a judge, and this is generally sound advice. Keep in mind their institutional reason for this policy as well, since your actions may jeopardize the chances of other students from your law school (because “those students from X law school are too arrogant or misadvised”). How you conduct yourself in this process reflects on your school as well as yourself. One can never tell how far the wrath of a judge scorned will extend and exactly what the consequences will be, for you or for others. For instance, many judges are acquainted with judges beyond their court, and may communicate with them. At the very least, if you turn down a judge, you can pretty much assume that you will be persona non grata on his or her entire court. Such a rejection for them occurs relatively rarely, and the judges do talk (particularly if offended or angered). In fact, once an offer has been made, many judges on the same court will refrain...
- The story of one former law clerk might be illustrative here. Josh Cohen was in the spring of his third year of law school with a law firm job lined up, but felt somehow that he had let the clerkship boat pass him by. He saw a posting for a position at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a “Court Law Clerk” (a predecessor for “Staff Attorney,” as they are now called) for the fall and decided at the last minute to go for it. As he told me at length with enthusiasm, this position quite unexpectedly turned out to be an exciting and unique experience. The clerks rotated through the court doing the substantive work of a law clerk, but for all of the judges. Occasionally, a judge would ask for the same clerk and “adopt” him or her; this happened for him, and he found himself working face to face with two very different and quite prominent judges—at that time, Judge Anthony M. Kennedy (before he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court) and Judge Harry Pregerson (who was of the opposite...
- In addition, the law clerks in the study emphasized their belief that the interview was the most important aspect for a judge in selecting a judicial clerk. Since it is quite common for law clerks to review the applications, interview the applicants, and participate in the hiring decisions, their opinion on this holds substantial weight. Based on their past application experience and their observations as a law clerk, the vast majority of these law clerks (81%) identified most often as “extremely important” to the judge the evaluation of the interview; second in importance were personal character traits. Their emphasis on the interview surpassed even the importance they placed on the academic record, although we must recognize implicitly the role that the academic record may have played in getting the applicant to the interview in the first place.
- Open Chapter
Appendix F Law Schools: The Ways You Can Help Your Students 24 results (showing 5 best matches)
- I am a big believer in programs, having conducted quite a few in my day. There can be a great variety of types of programs in the area of judicial clerkships, to address the issues from many different perspectives. One of the most interesting and valuable types of forum is the I have arranged panels on such themes as “gender and the bench,” “state and federal court clerkships: views from the bench” and “jurisdictional issues and the interrelationship between the courts”). Another venue is the role of a guest lecturer representing his or her court. I find that students greatly appreciate seeing a real judge as a person and remain transfixed on his or her words of wisdom. This event brings the judiciary to the students in a very meaningful way, additionally giving both student and judge the opportunity to exchange ideas and develop contacts. (As one judge later remarked to me, after speaking on the subject of clerking for his circuit—what cases you would be seeing if you were a law...
- One of the best ways to help students is to connect with them through counseling early in the process, and offer information as to courts and judges, strategies, and help with individual issues. The earlier you reach them the better—aim for the spring of the first year of law school—because you can help them shape their law school careers in ways that will be beneficial in general but also specifically for the clerkship application process down the road. If you wait to initiate contact until the “clerkship season,” when students are in the midst of the application process, you will find that the chaos can obstruct your message and words of advice. Also, many of the finely balanced elements of the application hinge upon what has taken place in that student’s law school experience before that point, so your efforts now will largely be triage. For instance, many students will complain later that they do not know any professors well, or that they do not have anything to use as a writing...
- I believe that encouraging feedback via student surveys is an excellent way to obtain important information directly from the people who count the most. You will want to separate the myths and rumors from the reality of what actually happened in that year through surveys on the subject of their application process and ways to improve it in the future for others. In addition, solicit written feedback from graduates as to their judicial clerkship experiences; in sharing vital information about their clerkships, they can provide one of the best resources in assisting their fellow students. By the way, I have found the response rate of the students and alumni to be quite remarkable and they are very willing to spend considerable time and effort in writing substantial comments. Perhaps this is due to the ...effect for them—the healthy process of looking back and evaluating their experiences—especially if they think it will make a difference and their suggestions will be taken to heart...
- on this subject can be very productive. Not only is it wise as a political matter to get the faculty involved in your programs, but they do tend to have more of a vested interest in this area. As a result, members of the faculty have valuable information to contribute to the students; they may have a great deal of their own knowledge about particular courts and judges that is important to have shared. Moreover, this is another opportunity to encourage further involvement of the faculty with the students. By facilitating the interaction of professors with students and increasing their amount of contact, you will be doing your part to improve this critical factor in the clerkship application process for your students.
- Schools should also implement measures to facilitate the mechanics of the application process for their students, including procedures to improve the timeliness of the letters of recommendation from their faculty.
- Open Chapter
Chapter Fourteen Minorities, Women, and Clerkships 56 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The racial composition of the federal bench has improved gradually over the past four decades. In 1980, 91% of all federal judges were white. In 2022, that percentage was 78%. The gender makeup of the federal bench has changed by a substantially greater amount. In 1980, 5% of all federal judges were women. By 2022, that percentage was 30%. Consider also an interesting statistic regarding the number of women judges; of 655 federal district court judgeships in 2001, only 136 were women. As of July 1, 2022, there were 424 women on the federal bench—nearly one-third of all federal judges. Women have advanced even better in state Supreme Courts, where they represented 41% of all high-court justices, according to a 2022 survey by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, almost equal to the percentage of all lawyers who are women: 38%. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts: “Today, about one-third of active Article III judges today are women who serve as U...
- Tables 2–6 and 28, reproduced here in the Appendix. for more research and statistics on minorities and women, including the following articles: “Increasing Diversity of Law School Graduates Not Reflected Among Judicial Clerks” ( , September 2014) (“Even as the percentage of minority graduates overall has increased from about 14% in 1993 to over 25% in 2013, minority representation among judicial clerks has not shown similar growth.”), , November 2010) (“Over the last ten years the overall number of judicial clerkships obtained by law school graduates has decreased significantly, and over this same time, the proportional demographic representation of those obtaining clerkships has shifted.”), , June 2008) (“Even as the percentage of racial/ethnic minority graduates has increased over the last 15 years, minority representation among court clerks, while increasing, continues to lag behind minority representation among all graduates by about 5 percentage points.”), ...(“Overall, the...
- The ABA Section of Antitrust Law sponsored a second initiative in this area. Originally called the Racial and Ethnic Minority Judicial Externship program, the program has been expanded over the years and is now the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program, run by the ABA Section of Litigation since 2003. It is currently a full-time (35–40 hours per week), six-week minimum, summer internship program open to all first or second-year diverse law students who want to do legal research and writing for state or federal trial and appellate judges. Participating judges are from Phoenix, Miami, Philadelphia, Camden, New York City, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.; internships are also available in several cities in California, Illinois, and Texas; and some with an intellectual property law focus in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C. The mission of the program is to provide opportunities to students who are racial and ethnic groups that are... ...the...
- This chapter is directed more broadly to reach not only students but their law schools and other organizations—with the key information and strategies here, you will be well equipped to use this as your handbook to further the goals of minorities and women in the clerkship arena. As recent efforts from several fronts have been directed towards increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession, this is indeed a good time for women and minorities to pursue a judicial clerkship. The American Bar Association (“ABA”) in 1987 set forth as Goal IX: “to create the full and equal participation in the profession by minorities and women.” This goal was later expanded to include “persons with disabilities, and persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities”; in 2008, the ABA refocused this objective into Goal III: “to promote full and equal participation in the association, our profession, and the justice system by all persons and to eliminate bias in the legal...
- For four of the last five years included in the study (1994–1998), women comprised a majority of the law clerk population. Yet a disproportionately high percentage of women served in local and state courts rather than the more competitive and prestigious federal courts. This gap has decreased slightly through the years and varied greatly by the courts of each circuit, but the study also revealed that success rates of women applicants as a whole were lower than those of males. Taken together, the findings indicated that both women and minorities have not yet achieved parity in all levels of judicial clerkships ( Appendix E of this book for more of the statistics and reprints of the accompanying tables; for more recent statistics, as well as the specific citations listed here). It should be noted that as the number of women in the law school class has increased to surpass the number of men, one would expect the number of women in clerkships to rise accordingly.
- Open Chapter
Chapter Twelve Lessons and Advice Directly from the Judges 121 results (showing 5 best matches)
- In addition, clerking gives a young lawyer a unique opportunity to gain perspectives on litigation, advocacy, and lawyering in general “from the other side of the bench” (i.e., from a judge’s vantage point), which is a perspective that only relatively few lawyers have and is something that the law clerk will reflect in his/her future work and will remember for the rest of his/her life.
- In the time since the first edition of this book when this essay was first published, Judge Smith went on to serve many more years as a Magistrate Judge, including Chief Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York in 2006–2008. She retired in September 2020 after 25 years on the bench and continues to contribute.
- sits down with five judges from the ABA Judicial Division to get their expert advice on landing a coveted judicial clerkship, making the most out of this opportunity once you’re in their chambers, secrets to working well with judges, and other tips from the bench.
- Another skill that becomes honed for a law clerk is your writing skill because, whether you are writing a bench memo or assisting in the draft of a decision, you are learning to say things clearly and persuasively in order to review the point as easily as you can. Similarly, it is not unusual for a judge to play “devil’s advocate” with the law clerk and require the law clerk to articulate one of the parties’ arguments as if they were being presented in court. Whether by dealing with the lawyers or being called upon to argue in this fashion, the law clerk is encouraged to use oratory skills in a way that will serve the clerk well in the future.
- I depend on my clerks constantly. On the District Court, with hundreds of pending cases and scores of pending motions, we can function effectively only if we work as a team. My clerks and I together review the factual and legal issues we anticipate each time before I take the bench to preside over a trial or to hear argument of a motion. They prepare first drafts of nearly all of my written opinions. The back-and-forth editing process results in both of us learning from the other. I find our discussions of legal issues to be invaluable to the process by which I arrive at decisions, and I have come to trust my clerks’ judgment as a helpful double-check of my own instincts.
- Open Chapter
Chapter Eleven The Ultimate Prize: Clerking for the U.S. Supreme Court 60 results (showing 5 best matches)
- (Greenwood, 2014) (the life and early career of Elena Kagan before and during her time on the Bench, highlighting her priorities of fairness, justice, equality and civil rights).
- As job guru Kimm Walton has called it, of the ultimate dream jobs, clerking for the U.S. Supreme Court is really the “plummiest of the plum.” In a five-month study on the effect and growing influence of law clerks, found that eight of the nine Justices now routinely allow their clerks to write the crucial first drafts of the opinions they write, and eight Justices also give the clerks the key job of making the initial review of incoming cases. The study concluded that the law clerks of the Supreme Court are “the most powerful, least known young lawyers in America . . . For an intoxicating year, 36 young men and women quietly screen most of the cases that come to the nation’s highest court and write most of the words that come out.” The professional impact of this highest clerkship carries with you for a lifetime.
- It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work closely with one of the best lawyers in the country ( the Justices) with some of the brightest recent law grads in the country ( the clerks) on some of the most important questions in the courts. Afterwards, I don’t know if it gives you entree to new opportunities, although it certainly hasn’t hurt me. At a minimum, the networks will be ringing your phone off the hook the next time a presidential election is thrown into the courts.
- While we are discussing the U.S. Supreme Court, another opportunity to consider there is the Supreme Court Fellows Program. Following a clerkship at the district or circuit court, if you are interested in further study at the highest level of the federal judiciary, as commended by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.: “The fellowship provides a unique opportunity for exceptional individuals to contribute to the administration of justice at the national level.” appointments, typically commencing in August or September (with the application period opening in the previous September and usually due in early November). Fellows work at the Supreme Court, the Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, or the United States Sentencing Commission on various projects concerning the federal court system and judicial administration. Founded by then-Chief Justice Burger in 1973 as the Judicial Fellows Program, the program provides fellows the prospect to study first-hand...
- Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of the Supreme Court Law Clerk
- Open Chapter
Chapter Thirteen Tools for Research: Where to Look for Information on Courts, Judges, and the Like 106 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Dunnewold, Mary L., Beth A. Honetschlager, and Brenda L. Tofte. Carolina Academic Press 2010. Focuses primarily on preparing for the tasks of a law clerk: researching, writing bench memoranda, orders, opinions, and other documents.
- documents released by the White House Press Secretary, including names of people nominated to the federal bench; also published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Since 2009, many of these materials are updated daily, but some announcements and press releases as well as the nominations submitted to the Senate are available weekly online at
- The American Bench: Judges of the Nation.
- When you are initially forming your list of judges to whom to apply, it will usually be adequate to research geographic information on the court and biographical or background information on the judge. Several of the directories are a good starting place because you can get an overview of what courts and judges are out there, and your school may have a computer database as well of names and addresses to help out in the mechanics of preparing your letters and submitting your clerkship applications. Gathering information about the reputation of the judge and what it is like to clerk for that judge, you may consult a variety of people—law clerks, lawyers in practice, faculty, and other students—on this subject. Of the printed sources below, the best ones for this purpose will be: the
- This two-volume set, which is also available online, is a very good resource because the goes further than simple listings and biographies. This publication contains relevant background information on the judges, providing information as to their affiliations, associations and activities, as well as their most prominent cases. In addition, it gives lawyers’ opinions regarding most of the judges, which is something extra that is very useful. Keep in mind as a limitation, however, that the view of this judge might be different on the other side of the bench to a law clerk. Indeed, a judge who is perceived as “tough” and “a bear” to a lawyer who appears before him in court may be to his law clerks in actuality a “teddy bear” in chambers who has a good control of his courtroom, running it in a highly efficient and well-organized manner (which is generally beneficial for a law clerk). Still, this is an important perspective to consider, offering clues as to the judge’s personality,...
- Open Chapter
Chapter One The Value of a Clerkship 34 results (showing 5 best matches)
- A judicial clerkship is a post-graduation position with a judge or a court, in which the law clerk works closely with the judge as an assistant in handling his or her caseload. The duties of a law clerk range by judge and court from conducting legal research, drafting bench memoranda for pretrial motions and advising the judge on the resolution of these issues, to assisting in the drafting of opinions and the conducting of conferences, hearings and trials ( marking exhibits, researching evidentiary issues that may arise in the course of the trial, preparing jury voir dire and jury instructions). The law clerk generally acts as a liaison between the judge and the attorneys or litigants. Depending on the judge, law clerks may also be responsible for various administrative and clerical duties.
- In addition to being a key credential for future law practice in any area, a judicial clerkship is itself a valuable life experience. A clerkship offers a unique opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes of a courtroom into the practical workings of a judge’s chambers. Unless you become a judge yourself someday, you will never again have the chance to gain this perspective on how judges make decisions and how the system of justice operates. The same is true for the once-in-a-lifetime prospect to gain first-hand knowledge of current legal issues, and to impact the law through the judge’s decision-making and opinion writing. In the courtroom as well, through your exposure to numerous lawyers’ oral and written litigation styles, both good and bad, you will be forming role models of the most effective techniques for your own eventual practice of law.
- Behind every great judge is his or her law clerk. This fundamental truth explains why having an outstanding law clerk is so vitally important to a judge. To help us understand this process, it is enlightening to view this first from a judge’s perspective. The relationship between a judge and his or her law clerk is an intensely personal collaborative effort with a loyalty and codependence that are unparalleled in any other setting. The judicial clerk serves as a confidant, an advisor, and an assistant who is always by the judge’s side to do his or her legal bidding. In the sanctity of chambers, a judge can talk to the clerk in depth about a case, seek direction, and rely in large measure upon the legal research, writing and editing skills of the law clerk. In turn, the law clerk receives an exciting one-on-one education from a stellar member of the legal profession—a knowledgeable jurist in a lofty position of influence and authority—a heady experience that cannot be matched in any...
- Although we will discuss some variations below, most clerkships are temporary in nature, lasting for a term of one or two years at the discretion of the judge. In some instances, the clerkship continues for a longer period of time, typically in the category of a “career” or “permanent” clerk. Some judges start their law clerks at the same time, while others stagger the terms, resulting in a “senior” and a “junior” clerk.
- As a historical note, the role of the judicial clerk reportedly dates back to 1875, when Horace Gray, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, hired a young graduate of Harvard Law School to be his law secretary. When he was appointed to the United States Supreme Court in 1882, Justice Gray continued the practice, later institutionalized by Congress in 1886 as a “stenographic clerk.” The tradition of hiring judicial clerks from the top law schools grew in the Supreme Court, and the role of these clerks in influencing the drafting and disposition of cases expanded. However, the position of law clerk was not established in the lower federal courts until Congress authorized the designated funds in 1930. Since that time, judges have come increasingly to rely on law clerks for their essential work.
- Open Chapter
Chapter Two The Keys to Success in Finding a Clerkship 49 results (showing 5 best matches)
- judges, may further determine an appropriate strategy. You will need to consider both: (1) the differing clerkship experiences by court, and which fit best with your personality, an appellate court as predominantly research and writing-oriented, versus a trial court as involving abundant contact with litigants, factual issues, jury and bench proceedings; and (2) the levels of competitiveness, which vary by court type and location.
- What you may find is that the most competitive courts and judges post early dates, for which you need to send your materials in immediately, but many other judges and courts will have a later pattern. This allows you more flexibility both in terms of getting many chances, but also in the types of judges and courts for which you can apply. For instance, many Magistrate Judges—who can provide wonderful clerkship experiences—will follow the lead of the District Judges, in part out of deference, and wait on their dates. The so-called “less competitive” circuits ( the Second, Ninth and D.C. Circuits)—which have very fine judges and excellent clerkships as well—are less likely to enter the fray so early and more likely as a whole to choose later dates. Of course, many great judges who are independently minded individuals in all types of courts (yes, even the Second Circuit and the Southern District of New York) will stick to their later application dates, which can vary (from before the...
- As a historical perspective, before the mid-1970s, the prevailing practice was to select law clerks during the fall of their year of law school. The judges’ hiring deadline gradually advanced to the fall of the second year, and in some cases, even the summer before. By 1992, the timing of the clerkship applications had receded to the fall of the second year of law school, which was widely viewed as disadvantageous both for students and for judges because the students had limited opportunity to develop a record of grades and experiences such as Moot Court, law journals and the like. To counter this erosion, there had been several previous attempts at reform on the part of individual or groups of judges with the effects limited at best. Out of this milieu evolved the September 1993 guidelines from the Judicial Conference, significant in that the judges’ national policy-making arm—albeit only a representative body—had become involved in passing such a broad resolution. The resolution...
- Grades do not convey the entire picture for a judge, as there is much more to this application process than simply the academic record. One judge, the Honorable Lisa Margaret Smith, retired United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York, describes some of the nuances for her own selection process: “One of my considerations is the value of training attorneys for future work in this District, for this community. Thus, I ordinarily do not consider the ‘mercenary’ candidate, who has no apparent ties or connections with the Southern District of New York or its environs.” Sometimes the background of the judge will yield clues as to the aspects that will be important to that judge. For instance, as Judge Smith explains, “Because of my background in public service, I give weight to a candidate’s demonstrated commitment to serving the public, either by volunteer positions, internships or actual employment in public service, whether legal or non-legal.” Each judge has an...
- Of value to you in your own clerkship applications should be the National Judicial Clerkship Study, which with its extensive aggregate data provided enlightening answers and debunked some of the myths surrounding the clerkship application process. The study found overall that the elements of the academic record do play the largest role in a successful clerkship application. Many students who applied for and received a judicial clerkship had certain law school activities or factors in common. More than one-half had one or more of the following characteristics: “top grades/high class rank” (as defined by the students’ own perceptions), membership on the law review/law journal, or experience as a teaching or research assistant. Almost half had significant prior work experience. These students mentioned other law school activities or characteristics with somewhat less frequency, and nearly one-third had a summer or academic year judicial intern/externship. These factors for success...
- Open Chapter
Chapter Six Choosing a Judge Who’s Best for You 60 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Another former clerk told of his positive clerkship for a Senior Judge with over 20 years on the bench for the U.S. District Court: “He was less actively engaged in the minutiae of each case; but he had a breadth of experience and knowledge that allowed me to serve as an apprentice rather than strictly as an employee. On one occasion, I recall that my mind was completely made up about the law on a particular case, although I sympathized greatly with the plaintiffs. I set out to convince the judge that he would be harshly reversed if he ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor. Much to my amazement, he devised a Solomonic outcome that gave the plaintiffs the relief they sought but also persuaded the defendants to settle rather than appeal.”
- For instance, my judge believed strongly in hard work and efficiency during the normal hours of the business day, and ushered his clerks out the door at a reasonable hour. He strongly discouraged his clerks from bringing extra work home with them, urging them to maintain an outside personal life and to build an active professional life by attending civic and bar association functions. Yet he proudly carried a large caseload for 37 years on the bench, without stagnant or long-pending cases. In the words of the master (the Honorable Charles L. Brieant, of course):
- Again, there is nothing wrong with this if you are lucky enough to be one of the few who actually has a personal connection with a judge, either through yourself, your family, or your friends. Now would be an appropriate time to contact that judge directly (asking the family member or friend first) for advice on applying for a clerkship in general, and in the process see whether that judge would be interested in hiring you. At the very least, you can express an interest and see what develops. Perhaps the judge will contact his or her colleagues on the bench for you. As long as you are polite, deferential, and not presumptuous or arrogant about the potential fruits of your relationship, this course of action would be appropriate.
- For this purpose, there are many good sources of background information on the judges to follow later in the resources chapter, ranging from contact directories with biographical profiles (
- Another former clerk of my judge, the Honorable Melanie Cyganowski, agrees with his judicial working style, which she indeed then followed as a judge on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Eastern District of New York), serving as Chief Judge, and later returning to private practice in bankruptcy litigation. She has contrasted her approach of hard work during the business day with that of a colleague on the bench who uses “every available hour” and is regularly in chambers until late at night. “The way that we now run our own court was modeled after our own clerkship experiences . . . So far both of our judicial loads are being managed and indeed it is all a question of style.”
- Open Chapter
Chapter Ten Preparing for Your Judicial Clerkship 32 results (showing 5 best matches)
- training classes for judicial law clerks, if these are available to you, to learn how to research legal issues and check case and statutory citations. As a caveat on computer research versus the books—and I believe this is good advice for your general law practice as well—be sure you are comfortable using both forms of research. Some of the judges are old-timers and trust the books more; they may want you to run into chambers during a trial, pull out a couple of pertinent cases ( on rules of evidence or an on-the-spot legal issue) and run back into the courtroom to hand the books up to the judge on the bench. Also, you might have a situation where one or the other source is unavailable to you; if you are in a satellite courthouse, you either may not have LEXIS access or your book library may be incomplete due to expense and space constraints. So, you must be able to master both modes of research—and not get overly reliant on either the books the computer.
- It is essential to sit in at trial and oral argument as often as possible, so try to resist the urge to stay only in chambers or the library to get your work finished. Even though most of the work done by a clerk is behind the scenes, there is no substitute for the chance to participate in as well as witness the captivating drama and arguments presented in one’s court. Observing the attorneys perform orally as well as in their written briefs will help you to understand all elements of a case. Also, it is vital to hear the judge’s questions and/or comments to the attorney presenting a matter, as the issues develop and interact. To see the complete process in order to assist with the judge’s rulings allows a new lawyer or even an experienced one to have a “macro” view of the case. On a personal level, you will benefit greatly from the courtroom experience. A new lawyer might not have this exposure and vital information for several years at a law firm.
- Yes, this is undoubtedly a good credential. But it is also much more than that, as you are about to discover. This is one of your best opportunities to see the inside of a courtroom and the behind the scenes of a judge’s chambers and the courthouse (clerk’s office, pro se office, administrative offices). You will especially have an amazing, if not downright scary or overwhelming, impact and influence on the law through your judge’s decision-making and opinion writing. For this reason, don’t be concerned if you are two-thirds through the first year of your clerkship before you feel comfortable with this role—this is typical. At that point, you will finally be able to look beyond your own tasks and appreciate the finer points such as the level of lawyering you are witnessing and the points of law you are learning. Believe me, when you are a new associate in a law firm, or wherever else your next stop is, you will realize for perhaps the first time just how much you did, saw, and...
- The include a section on research and writing for judicial clerkships. Other key reference materials for law clerks include: the Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, U.S. Bankruptcy Code, state substantive law and procedural rules, and the Blue Book (although the judges don’t all follow it as religiously as do law students). Another interesting but lesser known source is the (Second Edition), published by the Federal Judicial Center in 2013 and designed to help judges organize opinions and improve their opinion writing; it offers advice on writing tailored to the needs of the federal judiciary, which makes it useful for law clerks as well.
- The Clerk’s Office staff and the Court Reporters are also important people to be (and after your clerkship, remain) on good terms with. They will be your source of case files, docketing of specific court papers, and general inside information as to the inner workings of the court system. One former clerk echoes the importance of always being polite and respectful to the judge’s courtroom staff and other staff including the secretary, office assistant, and the court clerks. “Most of these individuals have dedicated, and I mean dedicated themselves, to working for the judge or in the courthouse for many years and know the judge much better than you ever will. If any personality conflicts arise, you may find yourself on the losing side of the argument because they are there to serve the judge for the long term.” She also found on occasion that new lawyers may think they know the law better than some court personnel because they attended law school and passed the bar. “That is until...
- Open Chapter
Chapter Four An Overview of the Courts 54 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Judicial clerkships are available at all levels of the state and local courts. While the state courts system does vary greatly from state to state, some useful generalizations can be made about these courts. Every state has a top appellate court, and many have one or more intermediate appellate courts. Some states, like New York and California, have a highly developed system of intermediate appellate courts. As a cautionary note, the terminology may differ as well; the Supreme Court is usually the highest level of appellate court (and the jurists are called “Justices”), but not in New York, where it is the Court of Appeals (and they have “Judges”). Most state “supreme court” justices and many intermediate appellate court judges have one or more “elbow” law clerks. In addition or in the alternative, some intermediate appellate courts utilize a central clerkship staff that handles cases for the entire bench.
- The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary, and consists of the Chief Justice of the United Sates and eight associate justices, all of whom are appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. The Court holds one term annually, commencing on the first Monday in October. It reviews decisions of lower federal courts and the highest state courts, granting certiorari to a limited number of cases. According to the official statistics of the U.S. Supreme Court: of the approximately 7000–8000 cases on the docket per term, plenary review with oral arguments by attorneys and formal written opinions is granted in about 80 cases per term. Approximately 100 or more additional cases are disposed of without granting plenary review. Law clerks for the Supreme Court assist the Justices by reviewing petitions for certiorari, advising the Justices, researching and preparing memoranda for oral argument, and drafting and editing...
- The number of judges allotted varies by circuit, depending on the caseload of the courts. The smallest court is the First Circuit with six judgeships, and the largest court is the Ninth Circuit, with 29 judgeships. A list of the states that compose each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 41, and the number of judgeships in each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 44. Appendix B for a summary listing of these courts including districts, locations, and the number of authorized judgeships for each. For easier reference, I have included this handy map with the geographic boundaries of the Circuit Courts.
- This federal court of appeals hears appeals in specialized cases, such as those involving patent laws arising from the district courts, and cases by the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims. In addition, this court has jurisdiction over appeals from the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, the International Trade Commission, the Board of Contract Appeals, the Patent and Trademark Office and the Merit Systems Protection Board. It also hears appeals from certain decisions of the secretaries of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce, and cases from district courts involving patents and minor claims against the federal government. Located in Washington, D.C., the court has 12 judges and, as with the other federal appellate courts, they are appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
- The United States District Courts are the trial courts of the federal court system. Within limits set by Congress and the Constitution, the district courts have jurisdiction to hear nearly all categories of federal cases, including both civil and criminal matters. There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at least one district in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Each district includes a United States bankruptcy court as a unit of the district court (discussed below). Three territories of the United States—the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—have district courts that hear federal cases, including bankruptcy cases. (So, you can be a law clerk there enjoy a tropical paradise!) Several districts are divided into divisions and may have several places where the court hears cases. For example, New York and California are composed of multiple judicial districts, whereas Alaska is comprised of a single judicial district. The district...
- Open Chapter
Chapter Seven Building a Successful Application 99 results (showing 5 best matches)
- As a by-product of the absence of uniform application and interview dates, confusion is to some degree the norm. Even the judges are often uninformed as to when their other colleagues on the bench are reviewing applications and interviewing candidates. By calling chambers, you can seek out information as to when that judge is reviewing applications and setting up interviews, and try to get a sense of what his or her schedule and practice will be. Now more than ever the judges and their staff should be more understanding about additional phone calls to chambers without a negative implication that the applicant was somehow ignorant. Moreover, any opportunity to gain information and potentially make contact with someone in chambers could be advantageous. However, you should first ...the particular judge has published his or her application date, requirements, and procedures in one or more of these publicly available sources. If not, a polite telephone call to chambers would...
- Many of the students surveyed in the National Judicial Clerkship Study found the clerkship application process problematic in several respects. Almost half of the students who applied for a clerkship reported experiencing difficulties with the mechanics of the clerkship process. Of this significant portion, the majority identified the primary difficulties as determining the application requirements and deadlines of each judge and the timeliness of the application. About a third of them had problems arranging or prioritizing the interviews, researching the background of the judges, and obtaining letters, of recommendation. Other mechanics such as assembling the application package and preparing the writing sample, cover letters, and resume presented some obstacles. Keep in mind, however, that this was before the development of OSCAR, an online resource that facilitates the submission of clerkship applications for students; and this book, which will help you avoid some of these...
- A few words on the mechanics: some law schools will collect the letters from the faculty for you and assemble the materials for your application packet. Most will leave the processing of the applications to you. If you do gather these letters directly in paper form, you should take care to maintain each letter in a sealed envelope with the author’s signature across the seal. The fact that you have taken this additional step (even if the faculty member did not require you to do so) both demonstrates your integrity and enhances the weight or credibility of these letters. Either way, the judges do prefer a complete application package that includes the letters of recommendation; this helps to ameliorate the magnitude of their paper processing and the matching of separately arriving letters to their respective applications.
- The requirements of the clerkship application also vary by judge, so you need to determine each judge’s rules and preferences first, to the extent that you can do so. If a judge has taken the time to post the position on a court website, OSCAR, or to send a letter to your school, you should consider yourself on notice of its contents. Thus, you first need to consult these sources (and the Vermont Law School’s , if it is a state court clerkship). If, on the other hand, there is no information posted by that judge, a phone call to chambers to inquire about his or her requirements is usually not necessary at this stage. Unless there is information from the particular judge to the contrary, the general rule of thumb is that the elements of the application consist of: a cover letter, resume, transcript, writing sample, and two or three letters of recommendation. We will discuss how to build each of these elements into a successful application, addressing as well the questions most...
- Correctly addressing your cover letter and envelope, with the proper titles, spellings and salutation lines, is crucial. In the address portion of the letter and on the envelope, all judges should be referred to as “The Honorable,” followed by the judge’s full name, court in which the judge sits, and address. For the salutation, you should use the appropriate title ( Judge, Justice, Chief Justice), followed by the judge’s last name ( Dear Judge Jones). Note that judges on senior status should be referred to as “Judge” (not “Senior Judge”) in the salutation. ( Appendix A for specific examples of the proper manner of addressing a letter to a judge.)
- Open Chapter
Chapter Nine What Do Clerks Earn? 46 results (showing 5 best matches)
- However, it actually gets a little more complicated than that. Here is some of the additional minutia in the salary determination. There are locality pay differentials added for areas in which the cost of living exceeds the national average; so, depending on the location of your clerkship, a certain percentage increase based on the local cost of living (currently ranging from 42.74% for San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland in CA, 35.06% for NY/NJ/CT/PA, 31.53% for DC, to 16.20% for the “Rest of the United States,” areas not listed with higher rates) may be added to these base numbers. These figures represent the minimum step within each level. Each grade has 10 steps, and law clerks directly out of law school generally start at the first step within the grade; the salary differential from the first to the last step within a grade can range upwards of $20,000. Law clerks appointed for more than one year who have at least one year legal work experience, bar membership, and a current salary...
- A substantial number of students in the National Clerkship Study cited the financial differential of a clerkship salary as a component of their decision not to apply for a clerkship at all. More than one-third of the students who did not apply for a clerkship cited the lack of the finances to consider a clerkship, emphasizing as a deterrent the financial differential of the clerkship salary given their considerable educational debt.
- Recently a number of states have raised the issue of the propriety and ethics of offering and accepting a bonus between a law firm and a judicial law clerk. For example, in Texas the possibility was raised that the longstanding practice of several firms that offered clerkship bonuses could fall within its penal code prohibiting bribery of public officials. After an extended controversy, the Texas Supreme Court released new ethics rules forbidding its clerks from accepting bonuses from law firms that express interest in hiring them after they leave the court. Few states have a written policy on clerkship bonuses. One that does, Delaware, provides in its Code of Conduct for Law Clerks that, although clerks may be reimbursed for interview expenses from law firms, a clerk “may not accept the payment of any bonuses or moving expenses until the end of the clerkship.” In Arizona, the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee of the Arizona Supreme Court concluded that an appellate law clerk...
- For federal clerkships, there is a salary range that depends upon the law clerk’s legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school and bar membership, as well as the degree to which each individual judge will interpret the qualifications of the law clerk in executing the appropriate paperwork. By the time of appointment to a law clerk position, the candidate must be a law school graduate or be certified as having completed all law school studies and requirements and merely awaiting conferment of degree. Generally, federal law clerks who begin their clerkships directly upon graduation from law school “with academic excellence” qualify for a JSP-11 level salary under the federal government judicial pay scale. For current clerks, this level corresponds to a minimum of $56,983. The salary for federal law clerks entering their clerkships after ...-graduation and bar membership is typically in the JSP-12 range; currently this level corresponds to a minimum of $68,299....
- For individual questions regarding the employment of non-United States citizens, the OSCAR team is the best first point of contact, through the “Contact Us” page on the OSCAR website (by sending an email to the OSCAR Help Desk at or submitting the message form that appears on that page). According to the Office of General Counsel at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, this is the appropriate way for potential law clerk applicants with special concerns about citizenship requirements to find an answer for their particular situation.
- Open Chapter
Appendix D The National Judicial Clerkship Study: Executive Summary and Action Plan 90 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The desire to clerk in the geographic locale or court of their future practice was the factor that most influenced the decision to apply to particular courts.
- Clearly students recognize the value of the clerkship relative to one’s legal career.
- The following Executive Summary and Action Plan, excerpted from the Report of the National Judicial Clerkship Study at pages 8 to 18, summarize the most significant findings and suggested proposals for the judiciary, law schools and students. The complete findings are published in
- A letter notifying the law schools in the sample pool was sent out by NALP in early December 1999 asking the schools to indicate their agreement to participate in the next phase of the study and to provide information as to the number of surveys needed for their third-year students and alumni from the classes of 1998 and 1999 who are serving or had served as law clerks, as well as their preferred method of distribution to the students and alumni.
- For the last four of the five years included in the study, women comprised a majority of the law clerk population.
- Open Chapter
Introduction 4 results
- This led to my stewardship of the 2000 National Judicial Clerkship Study—the first comprehensive national effort of this magnitude in the area of judicial clerkships—conducted by the National Association for Law Placement (“NALP”) and the American Bar Association (“ABA”). Here was a valuable opportunity to design the surveys based on the questions students had asked me over the years, and actually to obtain the much-needed quantitative and qualitative answers from thousands of law students and alumni law clerks, as well as law school career service professionals nationwide. The study captured information on student perceptions about the clerkship application/selection processes; the value students see in clerkships; data on the presence of women graduates and graduates of color in federal, state, and local clerkships; the influence of clerkships on attorney careers; and the roles that law school faculty and administration assume in the student clerkship application processes. In...
- The ideas for this book have been forming from my own experiences throughout the years, first as a student at Yale Law School applying for a clerkship myself with virtually no guidance or information, then as a law clerk with the amazing good fortune to clerk for the Honorable Charles L. Brieant, then-Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York—an experience so positive that I repeated it as a permanent law clerk many years later. Through my subsequent years in private practice at Rogers & Wells in New York (now Clifford Chance LLP), I came to recognize the value of a clerkship in one’s law practice and general career. During my second clerkship experience, I appreciated my role as a law clerk all the more, and had the rare opportunity to meet with numerous members of the judiciary as part of the continual mentoring of my wonderful judge. Emerging as an enthusiastic advocate, I returned to my law school to spread the word of this remarkable world of...
- One of the most significant findings of the National Judicial Clerkship Study was something I discovered long ago—the need for more resources on judicial clerkships—suggesting a master handbook for law students in this area. In the creation of this definitive guidebook, I hope that I—and all of those judges, law clerks, students, and court personnel who have provided their valuable input to this book—will be contributing to enhance the judicial clerkship process significantly for others in the years to come.
- Until this publication, there had been no central source of information on judicial clerkships and how to obtain them—the ultimate prize. Yet in the intriguing world of the judiciary, there is a maze of valuable clerkship opportunities that is often difficult to navigate.
- Open Chapter
Chapter Five Choosing a Court That’s Best for You 26 results (showing 5 best matches)
- More significantly, these courts differ in terms of the types of experiences that fit best with your personality. For instance, the appellate court is more like an extension of the law school experience: researching, writing, and more academic, with an occasional oral appellate argument and the opportunity to observe decision making in the dynamic of judicial panels. Trial courts tend to be involved more with the nitty gritty of daily trial practice, working with the evidence, the litigants, the jurors and the attorneys on a continual basis, in addition to drafting the opinions, advising the judge on the disposition of motions, and writing jury voir dire questions and jury instructions. The myriad of tasks of the trial court clerk will either appeal to you or overwhelm you, depending on your nature and temperament.
- Take into account, however, that the clerkship term is a limited one. Perhaps this is the time in your life to explore another area of the country for a year or two, if you do have the flexibility. In fact, some students seek an exotic locale, such as a federal clerkship in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which in addition to having a wonderful beach has a vibrant corporate practice. In addition, I know many students who enjoyed clerkships with the Supreme Court of Alaska, both for the adventure and for the opportunity to shape the law of a state in some areas of first impression in the absence of much binding law. (By the way, there is an added benefit in terms of timing; the Alaska Supreme Court typically interviews student applicants in the fall of their third year for a one-year clerkship commencing in the fall after graduation.)
- Particularly if you would like to consider practicing there in the future, a clerkship offers an opportunity to investigate the legal community of that geographic area, without committing yourself to a firm or other employer for the longer term. In addition, the more remote the area you choose ( avoiding the major East Coast and California cities), generally the less competitive the application process will be for that clerkship. For the most part, a federal clerkship is a federal clerkship, regardless of whether it is in Akron, Ohio or New York City—and the former (Sixth Circuit) is far less competitive than the latter (Second Circuit). So if you can, try to stay off the beaten path and use your geographic flexibility if you have are fortunate enough to have it!
- In this choice of courts, if you are wondering which factors are most important to your peers (as most students are), you may be interested in the findings of the National Judicial Clerkship Study in this regard. Asked to identify the factors that influenced their decision to apply to particular courts, the students and law clerks in the study named geographical considerations as the most significant, desiring to clerk in the locale or court of their future practice. More than one-half looked to the level of the court (trial/appellate), while almost as many focused on the type of court (federal/state/local). Many linked their decision to their interests and future career plans ( a particular area of the law, academia, appellate or trial work). Very few registered concerns about financial considerations in their selection of courts.
- After her clerkship with the late Honorable E. Eugene Spear, Patricia DeJuneas went on to clerk for the Honorable Donna F. Martinez, United States Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, and then the Honorable Owen Panner, U.S. District Court for the District of Portland.
- Open Chapter
Appendix C Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees 65 results (showing 5 best matches)
- With the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees on September 19, 1995, the Judicial Conference repealed the Code of Conduct for Clerks (and Deputy Clerks), the Code of Conduct for United States Probation Officers (and Pretrial Services Officers), the Code of Conduct for Circuit Executives, the Director of the Administrative Office, the Director of the Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, and All Administrative Office Employees Grade GS-15 and Above, the Code of Conduct for Staff Attorneys of the United States, the Code of Conduct for Federal Public Defenders, and the Code of Conduct for Law Clerks. JCUS-SEP 95, p. 74.
- A judicial employee should not engage in any activities that would put into question the propriety of the judicial employee’s conduct in carrying out the duties of the office. A judicial employee should not allow family, social, or other relationships to influence official conduct or judgment. A judicial employee should not lend the prestige of the office to advance or to appear to advance the private interests of others. A judicial employee should not use public office for private gain.
- he or she, a spouse, or a person related to either within the third degree of relationship (as defined above in § 310.40), or the spouse of such person (A) is a party to the proceeding, or an officer, director, or trustee of a party; (B) is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding; (C) has an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; or (D) is likely to be a material witness in the proceeding;
- A secretary to a judge, or a courtroom deputy or court reporter whose assignment with a particular judge is reasonably perceived as being comparable to a member of the judge’s personal staff, should not perform any official duties in any matter with respect to which such secretary, courtroom deputy, or court reporter knows that he or she, a spouse, or a person related to either within the third degree of relationship, or the spouse of such person (i) is a party to the proceeding, or an officer, director, or trustee of a party; (ii) is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding; (iii) has an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; or (iv) is likely to be a material witness in the proceeding; provided, however, that when the foregoing restriction presents undue hardship, the judge may authorize the secretary, courtroom deputy, or court reporter to participate in the matter if no reasonable ...ensure that official duties are properly performed. In the...
- A judicial employee’s activities outside of official duties should not detract from the dignity of the court, interfere with the performance of official duties, or adversely reflect on the operation and dignity of the court or office the judicial employee serves. Subject to the foregoing standards and the other provisions of this code, a judicial employee may engage in such activities as civic, charitable, religious, professional, educational, cultural, avocational, social, fraternal, and recreational activities, and may speak, write, lecture, and teach. If such outside activities concern the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice, the judicial employee should first consult with the appointing authority to determine whether the proposed activities are consistent with the foregoing standards and the other provisions of this code. A judicial employee should not accept a governmental appointment that has the potential for dual service to and/or supervision by...
- Open Chapter
Acknowledgments 25 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The many members of the judiciary I have had the great pleasure of associating and working with over the years, including: Honorable Janet Bond Arterton, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; Honorable Rosemary Barkett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Honorable Robert Benham, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia; Honorable Danny J. Boggs, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; the late Honorable Miriam G. Cedarbaum, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Honorable Raymond C. Clevenger III, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; the late Honorable William C. Conner, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Honorable Denise Cote, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Honorable Nina Gershon, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Honorable Barbara Jones, (...
- The publishers have generously given permission to use extended quotations or citations from the following copyrighted works. From the article “Clerkship Confidential” in , copyright © 2015. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, the American Bar Association. From “Courting the Clerkship: Perspectives on the Opportunities and Obstacles for Judicial Clerkships,” copyright © 2000 and other referenced research statistics. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, the National Association for Law Placement.
- The many judges and law clerks who shared their experiences, ideas, and input in interviews and through enlightening conversations contributed to the milieu of this book, most especially: the late Honorable Robert W. Sweet, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Honorable Holly B. Fitzsimmons, (retired) U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; Honorable William I. Garfinkel, U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; Alyssa Esposito, career law clerk for Judge Fitzsimmons; Donna Thomas, Staff Attorney, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut; Erin M. Kallaugher, career law clerk for the late Honorable Ellen Bree Burns, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
- Most of all, we should express gratitude to the many judges who have tutored and shaped the lives of their law clerks, passing on their knowledge and inspiration to each future generation of leaders of the legal profession, practitioners, politicians, academics, and members of the judiciary. It is my sincere hope that you the reader have the opportunity to share firsthand this remarkable experience and that this book helps you to find the clerkship of your dreams.
- Numerous individuals and organizations have supported this project with information and resources. Those listed here were the most instrumental, appearing with their original roles, at the time of the creation of the first edition. Many of them have moved on to higher positions or other roles; and, sadly, some are no longer with us. Together their contributions continue to live on in this current edition . . .
- Open Chapter
About the Author 7 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Debra Strauss served as Project Director of the National Judicial Clerkship Study, sponsored by the National Association for Law Placement and the American Bar Association. She is the author of
- is the national expert in the area of judicial clerkships, providing consulting services and seminars to law schools, students, other organizations, and the judiciary.
- Professor Strauss was also a member of the adjunct faculty at Pace University School of Law, where she developed and directed the Federal Judicial Extern Honors Program.
- A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University (B.A. Psychology) and Yale Law School, she served two clerkship terms for the late Honorable Charles L. Brieant, former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, first directly after law school and then years later as a Permanent Law Clerk. In addition, she practiced law at Rogers & Wells in New York (now Clifford Chance LLP), specializing in commercial litigation. Upon returning to Yale Law School as Director of Judicial Clerkship Counseling and Programs, she established the judicial clerkship program there, which achieved national prominence and resulted in a record number of Yale students obtaining clerkships.
- About the Author
- Open Chapter
Foreword 1 result
- Since the original edition of this book was published, judicial clerkships have evolved into an even more significant and sought-after prize in the legal profession. There are some new online application procedures and timing guidelines have come and gone, yet the underlying advice of this book has proven to be timeless. This newly revised edition provides updated information—current resources and website links—which will continue to shift slightly over time. What will not change is the wonderful world of the courts and clerkships, and the key knowledge contained herein for how to navigate and find the judicial clerkship of your dreams.
- Open Chapter
Copyright Page 2 results
- The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice, and this publication is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. If you require legal or other expert advice, you should seek the services of a competent attorney or other professional.
- Printed in the United States of America
- Open Chapter
Appendix E Data on Minorities, Women, and Clerkships from the National Judicial Clerkship Study 19 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The includes both the District of Columbia Circuit and the Federal Circuit.
- Reprinted from the NALP Report at 23–29, 46. Excerpted from the National Judicial Clerkship Study (October 2000), the only known comprehensive national study that has been conducted on judicial clerkships as of this date. For additional information and more recent data on minorities, women, and clerkships,
- The includes Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands.
- Note: Figures based on full-time jobs only. The unknown category is not shown on the chart.
- Data on Minorities, Women, and Clerkships from the National Judicial Clerkship Study
- Open Chapter
Appendix G Going Above and Beyond . . . Resources for Further Reading! 30 results (showing 5 best matches)
- For those of you who want to go the extra mile, here are additional links and information corresponding to the topics in each of the chapters to provide another dimension or perspective.
- http://abovethelaw.com/career-files/from-the-judicial-clerkship-files-putting-it-in-perspective-understanding-the-history-of-the-timing-issue-and-making-lemonade/
- Raczynski, Joseph. “The Current Status of the (Virtual) Courts.”
- Strauss, Debra M. “Putting it in Perspective: Understanding the History of the Timing Issue and Making Lemonade.”
- ABA Profile of the Legal Profession 2022 (comprehensive report containing demographics and statistics on racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the judiciary, law schools, and law firms)
- Open Chapter
Dedication 1 result
- This book is dedicated to my family—especially my husband Michael and children Melanie, Jonathan, and Andrew—for their patience and support through the years during which my information and experiences were accumulating, percolating, and boiling over before finally being memorialized in the present form. Of course, this tribute must also include the central member of my extended family—my own judge, the late Honorable Charles L. Brieant, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York—whose clerkship launched this incredible journey and who in the years since became my lifelong mentor, teacher, and friend.
- Open Chapter
Table of Contents 67 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Publication Date: January 30th, 2023
- ISBN: 9781636593593
- Subject: Academic Success
- Series: Academic and Career Success
- Type: Academic/Prof. Development
-
Description:
Author Debra M. Strauss, J.D. explains all aspects of clerkships in this newly revised edition. The book provides updated information and resources as your go-to source on judicial clerkships, focusing on what clerkships are, what kind of work clerks do, why you should apply, how to find and apply for the type of clerkship that would be right for you, how to give a strong interview, and why clerkships give you stellar credentials that prospective employers will actively seek out.
Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships, Third Edition is filled with nuts and bolts advice on all elements of the application process, including building a successful application, interviewing, etiquette of offers and acceptances, and special strategies designed to help you in your quest for the perfect clerkship. To further lay the groundwork for a positive experience, this title also features an exclusive section on how to prepare for your clerkship. The third edition adds current developments such as remote interviews and the virtual clerkship experience; recent data on women and minorities in clerkships; new Supreme Court feeder judges along with statistical analysis on the trends; and extra resources for further reading. As an entrée into the world of the courts, this is an indispensable handbook for every law student, lawyer, judge, and potential judicial clerk!
A must-have resource for colleges, law schools, courthouses, and legal organizations!