Judicial clerkships provide excellent legal training for attorneys, often laying the foundation for careers. Judges at almost all levels employ recent law school graduates or attorneys as clerks to assist them in their duties. The nature of a law clerk's work varies with each court or individual judge.
Students interested in applying for clerkship positions should investigate the process thoroughly and early in their law school careers by meeting with their assigned CSO Adviser. Students should also review the CASE Resource Library section on judicial clerkships. This includes MSU College of Law’s Judicial Clerkships Handbook, which discusses the application process, preparing application materials, and interviewing for clerkships. This Handbook can be found in the CASE Resource Library, under Practice Areas/Employment Type.
Many federal judges use the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR) to accept electronic applications for clerkships, and follow a hiring plan wherein students apply for post-graduate clerkships in the June between their 2L and 3L year. The OSCAR website includes a helpful Applicant Prep Kit on this process. However, be aware that some judges do not follow that hiring plan, and/or may require hard copy applications outside of OSCAR.
Students specifically interested in state clerkships can also access the Vermont Law School Guide to State Judicial Clerkships through the CASE Resource Library.
More information on clerkships can be found through the following resources:
Almanac of the Federal Judiciary: Features evaluations of judges in major federal district courts. Contains responses from hundreds of practicing lawyers including biographical information, publications, professional associations, and noteworthy rulings. Available through Westlaw.
BNA’s Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges, and Clerks: Lists of judges in various jurisdictions, along with phone numbers, court structure charts. Available through BloombergLaw.
Federal Judiciary Homepage: includes a list of judiciary jobs - http://www.uscourts.gov
Federal Judicial Center: research and education agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. government - http://www.fjc.gov
National Association for Law Placement: the professional organization for career services offices, they have various documents on judicial clerkships - https://www.nalp.org/judicialclerkships
If you have questions about the law clerk hiring process, please schedule a meeting with your assigned Adviser in CASE, or contact the Career Services Office at (517) 432-6830 or career@law.msu.edu.