A judicial clerkship is a prestigious and invaluable learning opportunity for a lawyer. However, doing a clerkship may require an attorney to defer other career or personal opportunities. This article discusses when most lawyers take judicial clerkships and explore whether taking a year or two for a clerkship is advisable.
Timing for Clerkships
Lawyers typically take on judicial clerkships after graduating from law school or during a sabbatical from their post-graduate position.
Right After Graduation
Many view clerking immediately after graduation as the best option before other professional and personal responsibilities may make it logistically difficult. The research and writing experience further develop skills from law school. For those considering academia, clerking provides publishing opportunities that can strengthen their prospects down the road.
Career Sabbaticals
Some attorneys leave their legal jobs for one- or two-year clerkship sabbaticals; typically, this occurs within the first four years of one’s career. The exposure to different areas of law allows attorneys to broaden their practice areas, which may assist them in pivoting to a different legal practice or a different employer altogether. For those with very demanding legal jobs, taking on a clerkship may provide a reset from the strain of their practice and a chance to re-energize before returning.
Benefits of Judicial Clerkships
Numerous benefits come with a judicial clerkship. Here are a few reasons why you may want to pursue one.
Gaining Invaluable Legal Experience
The experience and training you obtain during a judicial clerkship can be carried forward into any legal career, even if you choose to pursue transactional practice. A clerkship — whether it’s on the federal, state, or municipal level — offers law clerks exposure to a wide variety of legal issues and the ability to sharpen critical thinking, research, and writing skills.
One of the most unique and beneficial aspects of a clerkship, however, is the mentorship relationship that often develops between judges and their clerks; indeed, the personal and professional relationship a clerk forms with their judge is one that often lasts throughout their career.
Learning Inside Perspectives
Spending a year or two deeply enmeshed in the judicial process firsthand provides valuable insights. Observing how judges assess cases and make decisions, and watching lawyers’ courtroom demeanor and litigation styles often shape how law clerks handle their own cases later as attorneys.
Opening Doors
The clerkship credential stands out on a resume. Former law clerks are heavily recruited by law firms, government agencies, public interest organizations, academia, and corporations. Large law firms often pay clerkship bonuses and provide a year of credit toward partnership for associates who clerk. Many former clerks cite their judicial clerkship as a pivotal factor in their subsequent careers.
Challenges of Judicial Clerkships
Judicial clerkships may also present challenges to those who are considering doing them. You may want to consider your situation to determine whether any of these apply to you.
Delaying Salary and Opportunities
The largest downside is temporarily delaying higher earning potential in the private sector. Federal clerkship salaries are around $70,000. This is much less than first-year salaries at many law firms or other legal employers. However, many find the experience and the prestige make the one- or two-year income trade-off worthwhile long-term.
Disrupting Career Momentum
The application process for clerkships takes significant effort. Moreover, for those on the law firm track or in in-house positions, the year or two that you may take for your clerkship means that peers gain an advantage during the clerkship year. Similarly, those considering in-house positions could lose out if competitors gain the desired experience in that year. The application process takes significant effort as well.
Key Takeaways
Judicial clerkships provide unparalleled legal experience but may require you to delay some earning potential and career momentum. To determine whether pursuing a judicial clerkship is in your own best interest, consider weighing your specific career goals, finances, personal situation, and risk tolerance.
