Can i get a judicial clerkship

The jobs can be remarkable introductions to a variety of lawyering techniques and styles. The experience can be an invaluable way to see judicial decision-making in action, and to gain exposure to a wide variety of legal specialties. Many legal employers regard this as a gold star on your resume, and the judge you work with can be a terrific reference. For people who are unsure about a permanent job, or who are looking for a public interest or public sector job, a clerkship can keep you clothed and fed while you await bar results and search for a job.

A clerkship, however, is not right for everyone. If you are not interested in legal research and writing, are eager to get started in a job with more permanence, or are more comfortable in a role of more forthright advocacy, you might consider other alternatives. Six offices and the administrative offices are housed on the twelfth floor of the National City Center in downtown Indianapolis. Some judges select their clerks during the fall and some wait until the spring semester.

Students should apply during the second year of law school. Find more information on the Indiana Court of Appeals and on the judges. Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law students can clerk at any state court in the country and are not limited to the Indiana state court system. The deadlines and procedures for individual state courts vary widely. The National Center for State Courts has more information about state courts across the country. A judicial clerkship application generally includes a cover letter, resume, writing sample, law school transcript, and three to four letters of recommendation.

Bring completed clerkship application packets to the Office of Professional Development in addressed, but unsealed envelopes. Please see the section below regarding letters of recommendation for instructions on including letters in application packets. An applicant's cover letter is extremely important because this is the first opportunity the judge has to evaluate writing ability.

A poorly written cover letter or a cover letter with errors will result in the applicant not receiving an interview. Cover letters should be no more than one page.

It is important that a member of the Professional Development staff review judicial clerkship cover letters before they are sent. A cover letter should indicate the applicant's interest in a judicial clerkship during a specific hiring cycle including the month and year the applicant is available to begin work and should include information that the judge will need to evaluate such as academic success including the ability to research and write , interest in or connection to a particular geographic area, and availability for interviews, including any trips planned to the area.

Many applicants are tempted to explain why they want a judicial clerkship and how the clerkship experience could benefit them. Instead, the cover letter should focus on why the candidate is interested in the specific court, specific judge, specific geographic area or specific area of law if the court has limited jurisdiction , and the attributes that the candidate possesses that would make him or her a successful judicial clerk.

If it is possible to simply change the name of the judge and send a cover letter to multiple judges, the letter is not specific enough and should be rewritten to specifically express interest in the particular clerkship opportunity. Remember, the judge will receive many applications and can only choose a small number of clerks.

An applicant's cover letter should stand out as expressing genuine interest. Applicants are also tempted to describe themselves as possessing "excellent research and writing skills. Instead of simply stating ability, demonstrate it through examples of experiences that have developed those skills.

Describe achievements instead of just stating attributes. Letter 1: I am uniquely qualified for the position of judicial clerk.

I have excellent writing and research skills and hope to further develop them through the clerkship experience. This letter would not stand out from other letters and does not give the judge any useful information with which to evaluate this candidate. Letter 2: My experience as a research assistant to Professor Smith helped me to hone my research skills. I reviewed the recent changes to Title VII and the impact those changes had on the ability of employees to sue their employers for hostile environment sexual harassment.

My research revealed that the changes in the law significantly affect the time that employees have to file claims, and I expressed this result in a written memorandum of law. This letter is much more specific and uses examples to illustrate the point. This type of letter is much more effective.

Take special care in addressing cover letters. Use the form of address appropriate for the particular judge. Letters of application are formal and should show proper deference to the judge by stating the judge's title correctly. The following are guidelines for correctly addressing cover letters:. Resumes should be conservative in style and should list education and experience in reverse chronological order.

They should not be longer than two pages and should be error free. A resume should include experiences that illustrate research and writing skills such as a law review note being selected for publication; any other publications; and jobs, pro bono experience, and internships at which the applicant conducted research, wrote legal memoranda, or prepared legal documents. Resumes should include community service or interests and activities that would help the judge get a sense of the applicant as a person.

Remember, the judge is not just hiring an employee. Judicial clerks work closely with the judge and personality fit is as important as credentials. A resume should give a sense of who the applicant is and what interests him or her. Applicants should have their resumes reviewed by Professional Development before sending them.

It's important to have a fresh pair of eyes check errors and to make sure that educational and professional experience is described in a way that best illustrates its value. While the cover letter is really the first writing sample, judges also want to see an official writing sample, which illustrates legal analysis ability. When choosing a writing sample, keep in mind the functions of a judicial clerk.

Clerks are called upon to evaluate a factual and legal situation, research applicable law, analyze the factual and legal situation in light of the law, and reach a conclusion. A writing sample should reflect these abilities. Appropriate writing samples include a law review article, a moot court brief, a paper written for a law school course, or a memorandum from a summer clerkship.

Applicants who submit material created for an employer must get the employer's permission first. A writing sample should be pages long. The judge's time is valuable, and it is not appropriate to ask him or her to read a lengthy writing sample. An excerpt of a longer work is fine, but be sure to identify it as such.

It's also a good idea to attach a cover page to an excerpt listing a few key facts and giving some context to the piece. Read our advice here. This judge located in fabulous City X had hired a clerk from another law school whose name everyone in America would know immediately.

Turns out that the clerk was a very frequent user of social media and posted on multiple platforms daily. The judge ultimately rescinded the offer because the judge was concerned that the clerk would not be able to reform their social media habits while in chambers, which might compromise confidentiality. While this may have been an idiosyncratic response, it is a good reminder that what you post to social media, and how frequently, can have real effects on your clerkship success.

After two challenging years in law school and two summer experiences that stretched your limits, you may want to take it down a notch as a 3L.

While this is a natural and understandable response, if you decide to apply for clerkships during your third year or as a graduate, judges are going to be looking carefully at your course load and academic performance across all semesters of law school.

Well, the chances of landing a clerkship are notably better than winning at Powerball 1 in million , but they will be 0 if you get burned out and stop applying.

The clerkship search can go on for months and months without feedback from judges. Contact Dean Peck at any time to strategize or revitalize.

If you are selected for an interview, you will be contacted by the court or judge by letter, phone, or e-mail. There is usually only one interview phase and the judge or court reaches a hiring decision shortly thereafter or stops the process when an ideal candidate is found. Once an offer is given, the successful candidate typically has to respond within 24 hours, or even the end of the same business day.

Therefore, the golden rule of clerkship applications is to only apply to judges or courts with whom you would immediately accept an offer.