career > judicial clerkships Introduction to Judicial Clerkships
Federal Court Clerkships
State Appellate & Trial Court Clerkships
Additional Judicial Clerkship Resources
Introduction to Judicial Clerkships
Each year we field questions from students about judicial clerkships. Most state appellate and federal courts and judges have openings each year for one or more judicial clerks. Some state trial court judges, particularly in larger communities, also may hire
law clerks.
With few exceptions, there are no paid judicial clerkships for law students while they are in law school. Students interested in clerking with a judge, however, may want to explore judicial externships (also called judicial internships). For more information on these opportunities, see Clinics & Externships on the Law School's website.
Our goal here is to outline the types of clerkships available and to provide information on the application processes and timelines as well as resources available to help with your job search. If you don't see here the answers you are looking for, check with a member of our Judicial Clerkship Advisory Committee. Each year the Dean appoints this Committee to work with students interested in judicial clerkships. Members this year include Professors Maury Holland (Chair), Rebekah Hanley, Jim Mooney, Robert Tsai and Associate Director of Career Services Jane Steckbeck. If we can help, don't hesitate to check with us.
Federal Judicial Clerkships
Most federal judges have openings each year for one or more paid judicial clerks. These are positions for after graduation. Students apply directly to the judge or judges of interest to them. Judges generally do not visit campuses for interviews; it is almost always the student's responsibility to travel to the location of the judge for the interview.
Application Process
Virtually all federal appellate judges, most federal trial judges, and law schools, including the University of Oregon School of Law, have agreed to a strict timetable that defers most applications for federal judicial clerkships until the beginning of a student's third year of law school.
Although relatively few judges widely distribute notices of openings, there are now some significant databases on the Internet that provide notice of many of these. If you are interested in clerking with a particular judge or court after you graduate, however, in some cases you may need to contact the judge or court to determine the application process and time frame.
Timing of Applications
September 2, 2007 (the day after Labor Day) is the first filing date for applications to virtually all federal judges for positions open as of fall 2008. 3Ls who have an interest in doing a federal judicial clerkship after graduation will need to mail or Fed-Ex their application "package" so that it arrives on Tuesday, September 2, 2008, or shortly after, if they want to have a serious chance to be considered, especially by federal appellate judges.
Federal Judicial Clerkship Resources
- 2007 Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan. This covers application dates, summarizes the plan, offers helpful Q&A's, and provides background on the plan. Must reading for applicants!
- NALP Information on Judicial Clerkships. Includes some particularly helpful suggestions for students: "Tips for Students Spending Their Summers in the Private Sector," and "Fellowships & Clerkships? Planning Issues in the New Regime".
- Federal Law Clerk Information System, the official federal jobs posting site for federal judicial clerkships. Contains notices for an estimated 70% or more of open positions. This is probably the most complete of all sites that purport to include federal judicial
clerkship listings nationwide. It also includes a brief overview of the federal court system, the work of judicial clerks, ethical standards, and salary information.
- Almanac of the Federal Judiciary (available on Westlaw and at the Law Library reference section). This is the best of the reference works we've seen on federal judicial bios.
- Northwest Consortium (West/Rocky Mt) Judicial Clerkship Database.
ID: consortium. Password: judicialclerkship
We are a member school of the Northwest Consortium, which has
developed this site. Probably the best coverage of judicial openings
in the western states, in spite of some gaps.
- Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships by Debra M.
Strauss (The BarBri Group, 2002). Available in Career Services.
State Appellate and Trial Court Judicial Clerkships
State Appellate Courts
State appellate courts in most cases hire during a student's second year of law school.
The Oregon Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Tax Court typically advertise openings in December or January of the second year. This notice is posted to our online Job Listings Database. The deadline for applications is usually late April, followed by interviews in May and June and offers extended in most cases by July 1. A student submits to the Oregon Judicial Department one application, which goes to all judges who have openings.
Students interested in applying for judicial clerkships with appellate courts in most other parts of the country, however, must submit applications to each judge of interest to them. Many appellate judges post their own notices of openings (if they post
them at all) and set their own timelines for applications. Most will take applications and hire during the second semester of a student's second year of law school, with some hiring later and a few earlier. Under these circumstances, a student interested in clerking with a state appellate judge outside Oregon after graduation is well advised to check with Career Services early in their second year. If information on a particular judge is not available in the resources below, the student may want to contact the court or judge's chambers as to whether there are openings and the application process.
State Trial Courts
State trial judges, particularly in larger communities, may also hire judicial clerks for after graduation. For example, in Oregon, state trial judges in two Portland area counties (Multnomah and Clackamas) and in Eugene (Lane County) hire judicial clerks. In addition, state trial judges in Klamath Falls (Klamath County) and, in some years, in
Roseburg (Douglas County) and Newport (Lincoln County) have hired judicial clerks.
Application deadlines vary depending on state and court/judge. Among the earliest trial courts to hire are those in New Jersey, Michigan and Alaska, which may begin advertising openings 15 months prior to the start date of the clerkship. Students in general, though, need to begin watching for deadlines in the fall of their third-year. Deadlines for these kinds of positions in states like Oregon, Washington, and California usually fall in December to February prior to graduation, although trial judges in the Portland area hire year-round as the need arises.
State Court Resources
- 2007 Guide to State Judicial Clerkships
ID: guide2007. Password: Juneau
- Oregon Judicial Department
- Northwest Consortium (West/Rocky Mt) Judicial Clerkship Database.
ID: consortium. Password: judicialclerkship
We are a member school of the Northwest Consortium, which has
developed this site. Probably the best coverage of judicial openings
in the western states, in spite of some gaps in coverage.
- National Center for State Courts
- CQ Press Federal & State Judicial Clerkship Directory and Directory of
State Court Clerks & County Courthouses. The former includes general information about state court systems. The latter contains basic phone and address information for state trial court clerks. Both are available in the Career Services Office.
Additional Judicial Clerkship Resources
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