Judicial clerkships are rising in popularity, according to the National Association for Law Placement. In fact, they may be more popular now than nearly any other time in history.
According to NALP’s report “Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Law Graduates – Class of 2023,” 10.4% of graduates planned to take a judicial clerkship. That made judicial clerkships the third most common employer type (after private practice and other types of government roles).
Of all judicial clerkships, federal clerkships offer the most competitive salaries. Federal clerkships typically pay $75,000 or more annually. Additionally, they often lead to careers at prestigious firms or universities.
However, most graduates are placed into either state (appellate and trial courts) or local clerkships. Median salaries for state and local clerkships are lower, ranging from $52,000 to $65,000.
The bottom line? Clerkships aren’t all created equal, especially with pay and potential career value, but their popularity will likely continue to increase in the coming years.
Jennifer Pollard, director of judicial clerkships at University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, believes there are three key motives: experience, mentorship and résumé prestige.
“The reason might be different for each individual student or graduate, but as a whole, it’s all three,” Pollard said.
When it comes to experience, graduates will focus on their research and writing for a year or two, which are the main building blocks of every strong lawyer, Pollard said.
“If graduates have trial court clerkships, they’ll potentially witness great and bad lawyering in action,” she said. “For graduates with specialty court clerkships, they’ll especially be able to hone their understanding of that area of law.”
Regarding mentorship, Pollard said that many judges take their roles as mentors very seriously.
“They’ll bring their clerks to events to introduce them to as many people as possible and provide advice and connections for future jobs,” she said. “Some judges see their clerks as an extension of their family and have annual reunions with past clerks.”
Pollard believes the credential of a clerkship on a résumé is a big factor for many graduates. She has found that future employers often favor applicants that have a clerkship on their résumé.
“It’s the mark of someone who has the deeper experience with research and writing and knows the inner workings of the court,” she said.
The value of federal clerkships
Federal clerkships are respected in some private sector practice areas, Pollard said.
“There are private sector employers who do not hire straight out of law school but will hire for entry-level positions exclusively from clerkships,” she said. “BigLaw employers will offer clerkship bonuses or credits throughout the duration of a graduate’s clerkship. In doing so, they’ll likely lead a future associate to finish their federal clerkship and join their firm.”
Currently, a majority of BigLaw entry-level hiring occurs through summer associate programs since post-graduate positions are generally offered at the end of the summer.
“Entry-level hiring outside of that model is limited, but there are some BigLaw firms that will consider federal clerks who did not summer with them for entry-level associate positions,” she said.
A steppingstone to public service
State clerkships can be valuable for graduates pursuing public service careers, as they can be used as steppingstones to public interest and government careers.
The primary reason?
Pollard said public service employers will prioritize hiring graduates who have clerkship experience since they usually require less training.
“For public interest employers who litigate in local courts, having a former clerk in the ranks who has a deeper understanding of how decisions are made in the courts, as well as the basics of where they should go to file a court filing, can be invaluable,” Pollard said.
Within the government, some positions have bar passage and licensure prerequisites. Graduates may not always be hired right after graduating in May. Instead, grads can have a clerkship and gain experience and connections, all while completing their bar exams.
To hire entry-level attorneys, many federal agencies use honors programs, Pollard said. Through these programs, graduates often have to work directly for the agencies after graduating; they typically can’t practice for a couple years, prior to joining the agencies.
“One of the exceptions to this requirement is a judicial clerkship,” she said. “A judicial clerkship not only maintains a candidate’s eligibility, but it also gives the candidate an extra credential that other candidates applying directly from law school will not have.”
Formative experiences for young lawyers
Lois Casaleggi, associate dean for career services at The University of Chicago Law School, said clerking is one of the most formative experiences for young lawyers.
“Clerking means working directly for a judge to help them do their job, which includes researching legal issues, analyzing arguments and drafting memoranda and opinions,” Casaleggi said.
Most clerkships are with individual judges, and clerks become part of the judge’s “chambers,” a small, tight-knit team that supports the judge’s work.
For students just starting to explore law as a career, clerkships may seem like a distant goal. But Casaleggi encourages prelaw students to be curious about the judicial system now.
“Read articles about how courts operate. Attend public court hearings. Follow legal news,” she said. “These small steps help build an understanding of how judges think and why clerkships matter.”
Casaleggi said a clerkship is like a fast-track course in becoming a great lawyer.
“This behind-the-scenes view helps future lawyers develop their own advocacy style and build confidence,” she said. “It’s a high-stakes environment, and future employers recognize the value of that experience.”
Advice for clerkship applications
As law students prepare to apply for future clerkships, Pollard said timing is critical. Normally, she advises to wait until after students finish their first year of law school before they talk to their career advisors about judicial clerkships.
“Law students should apply for state clerkships during the spring semester of their second year,” Pollard said. “Very rarely, some clerkships will require applications in the fall semester instead.”
Under the Federal Judges Law Clerk Hiring Plan, judges are restricted from reviewing second-year student applications until mid-June.
“Each federal judge sets his or her own clerk hiring practices so there are some federal judges who may hire before this timing,” Pollard said. “Federal judges are increasingly hiring either people coming from prior judicial clerkships or practice, so the Plan doesn’t apply to those candidates and they can be hired at any time.”
Pollard advises law students to petition for membership on a journal — a credential many judges seek out — immediately after their first-year spring semester exams.
“After exams, the average student is exhausted and just ready to move on to his or her summer job and skip the petitioning process. Don’t do this!” she said. “Students must not limit the range of judges they can apply to by skipping the petitioning process.”
Law students should enhance their researching and writing skills too, as judges value these skill sets considerably. Moot Court is a great option for many students to boost these capabilities.
“When seeking a first-year summer job, students should focus on employers that will ask them to research and write,” Pollard said. “Students can also take additional classes that require research and writing so that they’ll have multiple writing samples to share with judges while applying to clerkships.”
Strong letters of recommendation or references are critical. Recommendations from professors are generally the most preferred, so students should strive to develop strong connections with their professors. To do so, students should be engaged in class, seek assistance during their office hours and conduct research with them.
“The more robust the recommendation letters are, the stronger they’ll be and the more helpful they are to judges, leading to a higher likelihood of law students acquiring fulfilling, impactful clerkships once they graduate,” Pollard said.
Donna Campbell contributed to this article.
