Photo: Ramon FVelasquez (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Job description
Clerks research the legal issues in pending cases, draft memos and preliminary opinions for the judge to review and revise, and help prepare for oral argument by reviewing briefs and attending hearings to take detailed notes. Clerkships run from state trial courts through federal appellate courts up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the most competitive ones can strongly shape a young lawyer's later career, sometimes leading to a signing bonus at a law firm afterward. The work happens in quiet courthouse chambers, demands precision since errors can affect a written legal opinion, and runs on the court's own hearing calendar.
Pros
- Close mentorship from a judge with a direct view into how legal opinions actually get written
- Widely regarded as a strong credential that can lead to a large signing bonus at a law firm
- Deep, focused research and writing work rather than juggling a large caseload
Cons
- Long hours, up to 70 per week, driven by the court's hearing calendar
- High-pressure precision requirement, since errors can affect a written legal opinion
- Only a fixed one- or two-year term, not a permanent position
A typical day
The clerkship year runs on the judge's docket, and today it's an appellate brief bench memo due Friday: the clerk reads both sides' briefs, then goes deeper than either — pulling every cited case, finding the ones neither side cited, and drafting a memo that gives the judge the honest lay of the land, including where the clerk's own view is uncertain. Late morning is oral argument, the clerk seated behind the bench tracking which questions land and which answers dodge. The afternoon is drafting: a section of an opinion in the judge's voice, not the clerk's — a discipline of its own — followed by the judge's line edits, which are a masterclass no law school seminar matches. Chambers is small and close; lunch conversations range from doctrine to career advice. It's a one- or two-year apprenticeship at the elbow of the law itself, and its alumni network opens doors for decades.
Tasks at the job
- Research legal issues and relevant case law for pending matters.
- Draft bench memos and preliminary drafts of judicial opinions.
- Review briefs and motions filed by attorneys in each case.
- Attend hearings and oral arguments, taking detailed notes.
- Verify legal citations and factual accuracy in draft opinions.
- Communicate with attorneys' offices on procedural and scheduling matters.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in courthouse chambers, a quiet, desk-based environment centered on reading and writing.
Precision is essential, since errors can affect a written legal opinion, and deadlines are set by the court's hearing calendar. The work involves significant independent research time and strict expectations of confidentiality.
Education necessary or common
Juris Doctor (JD) plus bar admission; competitiveness and required class rank rise sharply from state trial courts up through federal appellate and Supreme Court clerkships
Common college majors
Licenses & certifications
- Juris Doctor (JD) — required
- Bar admission
- Law review membership and class rank — the informal credentials that decide competitive clerkships
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- AP English Language and Literature — elite legal writing begins with elite writing, period
- AP US Government — courts, precedent, and constitutional structure
- AP US History — the context of the law's development
- Debate — argument construction and takedown
- AP Statistics or Calculus — top law schools reward analytical rigor from any direction
- Latin if available — the law still speaks it
Clubs, activities & competitions
- Mock Trial — courtroom fluency
- Debate team at the highest level you can reach — clerkships select for elite academic performance, and the habits start now
- School newspaper or literary magazine — bylined writing practice
- Model Congress or Youth in Government
First steps you can take now
- Read one appellate opinion and one dissent from the same case and map where they diverge
- Build serious writing habits: write something argumentative weekly and edit it ruthlessly
- Watch an appellate oral argument (federal circuits post audio; the Supreme Court posts everything)
- Understand the path honestly: top grades in college, strong LSAT, law school performance, then clerkship applications — excellence compounds from here
