Insights into a Law Clerk’s Role
Law Clerks, sometimes called Court Clerks, are legal professionals who support judges and attorneys, performing an array of essential functions. Within the legal community in Washington, DC, it is increasingly common for law clerks to operate with a specialized focus. For instance, a law clerk may dedicate their time and skills almost exclusively to handling estate and trust administration work, whereas another may focus solely on cases involving litigation or criminal law. While each of these law clerks will devote their time to different specialized practice areas, all of them share a common objective: to make certain their employer represents their clients effectively and efficiently in all matters.
Consider the typical law clerk in Washington, DC. Nearly all law clerks are knowledgeable about the specific area of law that pertains to the practice of their employer. These individuals are tasked with conducting research and writing that allows for their employer to deliver quality counsel to clients. A law clerk may provide clients with valuable assistance with a range of matters, including contracts, case law, statutory interpretation, regulations, and rules of evidence, among others . Through research and writing, the law clerk also provides their employer with valuable information and insight. Furthermore, research and writing completed by the law clerk provides a wealth of information within the legal community. Law clerks often must research and write to determine the outcome of various legal matters, affording judges and attorneys expanded perspective, and clients more favorable outcomes.
A law clerk’s duties typically include managing correspondence, written communications, reports, and pleadings. Theses individuals regularly communicate with other attorneys, court personnel, and clients. A keen legal mind, attention to detail, and ability to multi-task are essential traits of a successful law clerk. By offering value to the judge or attorney they serve, and by providing benefit to the legal system as a whole, law clerks play a vital role in maintaining professionalism, respect, and coherence in the legal process. Each law clerk represents a critical cog in the engine that will ultimately drive resolutions to legal matters.
How to Become a Law Clerk in DC
Most employers prefer or require applicants to have graduated from law school to qualify for a vacancy as a law clerk. To be eligible for some entry-level law clerk positions, you need only have completed a year of study at an approved law school and have passed the bar exam in your state. Your school also must be accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Some employers may not require ABA approval, though.
Most employer hiring authorities favor applicants who have earned an undergraduate degree in legal studies, criminal justice or a related field that includes pre-law courses. In addition, many law clerk positions demand knowledge of legal research, writing, and office practice. Those skills attest to your familiarity with the law library and your ability to conduct legal research and to write legal briefs, pleadings, opinions, orders, and rulings.
Clerks may perform legal research in civil matters and sometimes focus on criminal or family law. Depending on the caseload of the court in which you work, a law clerk position may mean working with judges at both the federal and state levels. To qualify as a federal law clerk, you must have earned a J.D. degree with honors (a grade of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale in both coursework and journals) or a comparable ranking from an ABA-accredited law school prior to being hired. A few employers in this field may offer a salary for clerking positions that is higher than the local average.
Employers of Law Clerks in Washington, DC
While law clerking positions vary greatly in scope and opportunity, the major employers of law clerks in Washington, DC include federal and local courts, judge’s chambers, large national firms with several offices around the country and in Washington, DC in particular, and government agencies such as the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Defense.
The DC federal courts, established under Article III of the Constitution, employ several types of law clerks. For their US District Court judges, the DC federal courts are known to hire recent graduates of Schools that rank highly in terms of peer-review and bar passage rates. These clerkships are competitive and highly coveted and often set up DC lawyers for success in their future legal careers. Successful candidates for these prestigious law clerkships will have law review/journal publications, impressive LLM or JD GPAs, and demonstrable interest in clerking.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is also known for offering leading law clerkship opportunities. Like many other federal courts, clerking at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is extremely competitively and many former law clerks have gone on to prominent careers at top law firms, as well as in academia and government.
DC also boasts a booming private law firm industry. A few of these larger firms also offer law clerkship opportunities for recent JD graduates for the entire year or during the summer. These clerkships are even more competitive than those offered by the US District and Appeals courts, and successful candidates for these highly regarded programs are generally in the top 10% or top 20% of their law school class, have clerked at other leading DC law firms, have law journal experience, and meet other criteria. Some law firms in DC also offer part-time clerkships for current law students so that they can continue with their studies while clerking.
Various government agencies in DC, such as the US Department of Defense and the US Agency for International Development (DOD and USAID) also offer law clerkship experiences for law school graduates as well.
Law Clerk Job Applications
The application process for law clerk positions in DC varies depending on the level of court and the office you are applying to work for. DC Circuit Court law clerks are hired primarily through online applications, including applications through OSCAR or directly through the Circuit Courts, depending on the specific judge or court you are looking to work for. Applicants should be prepared to submit a cover letter, resume, transcript and (sometimes) a writing sample. Interviews are typically granted to applicants who stand out based on their letter, transcript, and writing sample. For example, if your law school GPA is not strong, but you have noteworthy law review experience or outstanding letters of recommendation, this can sometimes be enough to snag an interview. Oftentimes, if there is a large pool of applicants, only applicants in the top 25% of their class will be granted an interview.
For District Court positions, applicants should check the specific court that they are applying to for application deadlines. The District Court typically only hires clerks every two years , meaning that demand is very strong for these positions and you must have an exceptionally strong law school record and letter of recommendation base to secure an interview. The only exception to this rule is if you are a 3L and applying to final year clerkship positions, in which case you should expect interviews as a general rule no matter your grades (assuming you meet other standards for applying to such positions).
Interviewing for an appellate clerk position in DC is generally similar to interviewing for any other type of legal job. You will need to understand common interview terminology such as "lateral" and "vertical" and what those terms mean in the context of a firm. You will also be expected to be able to discuss your resume and answer any clarifying questions regarding your transcript that the interviewer may be unsure about. Dress is always more formal than it would be at a typical firm for the DC area (think more along the lines of a job interview for a financial institution), and you should ensure that you arrive at the courthouse in advance of your interview time.
Law Clerk Networking and Advancement
Understanding the Culture of the DC Law Firm Associate | Part 5: Law Clerk Position (continued)
One of the most critical components to every successful law career is networking. The ability to navigate the Greater Washington area’ law schools – Georgetown, George Washington and Howard – is a must for law clerks hoping to transition into associate positions. All three schools require students to network diligently throughout their three years at school; and those same rules apply to law clerks. There are several monthly events hosted by DBL associates. Also, every week there is a basketball game at George Washington Law School – and law clerk attendance is welcomed by the associate lawyers of DBL. This past summer, there was also a happy hour attended by dozens of attorneys from DC’s largest firms and government departments. These types of interactions are helpful because they not only allow for a law clerk to increase his depth of local knowledge, but they also provide opportunities to connect with partners, and others, at those firms – potentially before you become even an associate there. Any young lawyer in the Greater Washington area will tell you that networking is key to finding a perfect job, and cultivating the relationships needed to build toward becoming a partner. Law clerks cannot miss out on such chances.
Law Clerks – Challenges and Benefits
While law clerks have the privilege of working in the federal epicenter of Washington, D.C., they also have the challenge, and in some ways disadvantage, of being in a field of highly qualified legal professionals all vying to be at the top of their game. With so many of the world’s leading legal experts and judges in the area, the competition to prove oneself among your peers can sometimes be daunting.
In addition to this competition, the workload for law clerks in Washington can be fast paced, high-pressure, and overwhelming. Many clerks arrive in Washington D.C. from smaller towns or cities where there are far fewer deadlines and professionals to compete with, and despite the transition challenges that can come with such a big move, once the transition is over, the biggest challenge can be just learning to keep up with the workload and helping to meet the tight deadlines of the judicial system. Getting behind on deadlines isn’t an option when it comes to being a law clerk, and many law clerks find themselves having to find ways to work smarter, not harder to stay on top of their workload .
However, with such a high workload, and high standards to meet as a law clerk in Washington, the rewards can also be great. It’s not uncommon for law clerks to move from their law clerk positions to more permanent attorney positions with court, law firms, and other institutions. More than 50% of those in law clerk positions go on to become attorneys, and many of them land attorney positions with the federal government and in Washington D.C. Similarly, those who leave law clerk positions for private practice often go on to larger firms after a few years of experience and many of them become known as the stars of their firms in the years to come.
Simply being a DC law clerk can open many doors when it comes to your legal career, and in a city like Washington D.C. where businesses have such a demand for legal expertise, there’s no shortage of experience law clerks and attorneys to help guide and mentor you as you build your resume and seek new opportunities and challenges on your pathway to success.