How to Become a Clerk for a Federal Judge
Rather than work for a firm after graduating from law school, many top-ranked law school graduates begin their careers by clerking for a federal judge. Competition for these positions is fierce and, unsurprisingly, landing a federal clerkship requires at least one year of preparation.
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Things You'll Need
- High class rank and grade point average Writing sample Resume Recommendations Internet access
Instructions
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Achieve a high GPA and class rank. Early in your career as a law student, aspire to achieve a grade point average over a 3.0 and strive to be in the top ten percent of your class. Although some federal judicial clerkships do not have a minimum GPA requirement, most are awarded to law school graduates who rank in the top of their class.
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Draft an impressive writing sample. Develop a piece of legal writing, whether an academic piece or a brief you drafted from a real case, that is complex enough to showcase your analytical and written communication skills. This sample should be edited only by you.
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Join the law journal or moot court board. Extracurricular activities during law school are necessary. The student organizations and activities with the most prestige are the law journal and the moot court board. Participation in one or both of these groups is critical in obtaining a federal clerkship. Having a leadership role in one of these groups is especially impressive.
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Seek recommendations. Become familiar with professors and other legal contacts who are well known in your community. A strong recommendation from a notable attorney in your district will help set you apart from the rest of applicants.
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Register and apply online through OSCAR (see Resources). The Online System for Clerkship Application and Review ("OSCAR") is the federal court system's method of screening applicants. To apply and search for federal judicial clerkships, log onto the website and click "Applicant Registration" to register an account and create an online resume. From this site, you may be contacted for interviews with federal judges to which you have applied.
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Tips & Warnings
Seek assistance from your law school's career services office when applying or considering applying for a federal judicial clerkship. Summer employment, an internship or an externship with a state or local judge prior to applying for a federal clerkship will increase the strength of your resume. Be sure to meet the deadline for applying to a federal clerkship. Most applications must be turned in one year before the start date of the clerkship.
