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Career Strategy
Timelines
Judicial clerkships can offer you exceptionally good legal experience early in your career!
Clerkship opportunities are available in many different courts, at many different times, and for
students with a variety of strengths.
What follows is a recommended timeline for students interested in applying for judicial
clerkships. Because application "deadlines" vary from court to court, and even from judge to judge
within the same court, you should consider the process as a series of rolling deadlines. Many, but
not necessarily all, of the most heavily subscribed clerkship "markets" (e.g., United States
Appellate and District Courts and the highest state courts) start taking applications as early as
September of your third year! However, many courts of all types (e.g., specialized Federal
Courts, state trial and appellate courts, Administrative Law Judges) take applications at all times
through your 3rd year. Therefore, whenever you enter the process, you should plan to
send out new batches of applications periodically - right up until you secure a clerkship offer!
Try to get started as early as possible, so that you will have a jump on the process. If you
are a 3rd year and fear you may be "too late," do not assume you've missed the boat!!
Because of the rolling nature of the process, there may be clerkship opportunities at any time!
However, we strongly recommend that you maximize your potential for success by applying early
and often-beginning in the Fall of your third year. Use this timeline as a checklist to calendar
your search process and to plan ahead!
First Year Fall and Spring: Learn and Build Relationships!
- Get to know professors!
Try to develop a rapport with at least one professor so that
you feel you can go to her for advice, feedback, or a clerkship recommendation. Talk to faculty
who have clerked for judges and learn about their experiences.
- Visit Career Services and attend educational programs.
In this way, you can start
learning about what it's like to be a judicial law clerk. Explore the Career
Strategy Library,
particularly the Judicial Clerkship resources. Participate in "Day In The Law" over winter break
and state your preference to be placed with an alum in the judiciary. Consult with Career Services
and/or a member of the Faculty Clerkship Committee as soon as you think you might be interested
in clerking full time after graduation. We can offer guidance, support, and insight into the process.
- Consider clerking during the summer or school year.
In the Spring, you can
register for a Judicial Externship with one of many federal and state judges. Judicial Externships
allow you to get great experience and earn academic credit for a summer or semester
commitment. In addition to the Judicial Externship program, many federal and state judges across
the nation hire summer law clerks, usually on a "self-funded" (unpaid) basis.
First Year Summer
- Develop a good legal writing sample from your job.
Learn as much as possible about the judicial process and particular courts
and judges.
Second Year Fall and Spring
- Prepare and revise your resume and cover letter.
Your "application" to a judge will
consist of a cover letter, resume, transcript, and writing sample. Your resume and letter ordinarily
should not be longer than one page each. See the Career Strategy website and professionals for
more guidance. Your resume should be a positive summary of your experience, background, and
skills and should contain no grammatical or typographical errors. Your cover letter should be brief,
sincere, and perfect, with no grammatical or typographical errors. In your cover letter, highlight
your strongest qualifications. Letters to judges are signed "Respectfully" or "Respectfully Yours." In
your resume and letter, emphasize your legal research and writing skills, as well as other relevant
work experience. After November 1 of your first year, show your resume and letter to Career
Services and revise it based on their wise recommendations.
- Prepare and revise your writing sample.
Most judges want to see a sample of your
writing because they will rely heavily on your writing ability if they hire you. Work hard in your Legal
Writing Class to develop a good sample of your writing. Submit your best written work. Correct
any grammatical or typographical errors and sharpen the analysis. A legal memorandum, brief,
case note, journal article, or other legal research paper would be appropriate. Length may vary,
but the ideal is somewhere between 5-15 pages.
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Use every chance to learn about courts, judges, and clerking.
- Get to know more professors! (see step 1)
Second Year Summer: Develop Your First Targets!
- Make a list of federal and highest state court judges to whom you wish to apply. Your
list should contain no one from whom you would not promptly accept an offer if given one. When
applying for post-graduation clerkships, the custom for most judges and most law schools,
including Villanova, dictates that you should be prepared to accept the first federal clerkship
offer you receive, unless there are extenuating circumstances that you could not have predicted
before the interview process. Thus, it is important to be thoughtful about your applications and not
simply "mass mail." Seek out "undiscovered markets" for federal or high state court clerkships.
Expand your search beyond Philadelphia, if possible, to avoid limiting yourself to the same judges
sought after by: 1) your well-qualified classmates from Villanova; 2) well-qualified candidates from
other Philadelphia law schools; and 3) well-qualified candidates from law schools around the
country who have ties to Philadelphia. If you are willing to relocate, you might improve your
chances of obtaining a federal clerkship. (Keep in mind, however, that you will pay any travel
expenses incurred for interviews.) Consult the Faculty Clerkship Committee, Career Strategy
website, links, library, and professionals for help with the process. And for federal clerkships, don't
miss the U.S. Judiciary's new website: https://lawclerks.ao.uscourts.gov.
- To help distinguish between judges, you may want to consider other
(non-geographic) factors in creating your list. Different courts can offer different experiences,
and the Clerkship Committee and Career Strategy can provide insight. You may want to think
about some of the following factors when designing your list of judges:
- How general or specialized is the court's caseload and how might this enhance your own career development.
- Quality of the bench. Most judges are very smart and thoughtful, but there may be gems that you might overlook without research. Ask professors, practitioners, alumni, and others about the reputation of courts in their geographic or practice area.
- Appellate vs. trial.
- Pace of the docket.
- Terms of commitment / flexibility.
- Decide on two faculty members to write you recommendations. Choose professors in
whose classes you enjoyed or did well in, and who know you somewhat outside of class. Do not
be discouraged if you do not yet know well the professor who gave you one of your better grades.
Allow her to get to know you so that she can write you a good reference. Ask if you could schedule
a meeting with her to discuss your interest in clerkships. Write her a memorandum about your
interactions with her both inside and outside of class. Then give her the memo, a copy of your
resume, and transcript at your meeting when you discuss clerkships. Also, don't forget about
faculty who have seen your best efforts in other legal settings, like clinics, legal writing, moot court,
or academic advising. Finally, a well-regarded practicing attorney who knows your legal and
professional strengths may also provide a persuasive recommendation, particularly to a familiar
judge.
- Double-check your list or "mail merge" information for accuracy. Chances are,
the most convenient and current mail merge list is available from Career Strategy. However, no
mail merge is foolproof, and you should double-check the information for accuracy and
completeness. Consult the specific court's website, court administrator, or clerk's office for the
most up-to-date information! If you learn new or correct information, please inform Career
Strategy as soon as possible.
Third Year Early Fall (Labor Day Onward): Begin Applying!
- Start sending out your applications to federal judges and highest state court
judges. Each application should include: 1) your resume, 2) your transcript, 3) your writing
sample, and 4) an individual cover letter. Each cover letter should be specifically addressed to
each individual federal or state appellate judge. Double-check the spelling of the judge's name
and official position on the court. Because some judges like to hire people with ties to the local
community, if you have such ties (if you attended college there, for example), mention them in your
cover letter.
- Tell the professors who are writing your recommendations that you have submitted your
applications. Give the professors a diskette containing the names and addresses of the federal
judges to whom you will apply (preferably in a mail merge format). Recommendations should not
ordinarily be mailed before your applications. Professors send recommendations directly to the
judges; so let the professors know when you have sent out your applications.
- Throughout the fall semester, continue scouring the Recruitment Database, the Gavel Gazette, the Job Bulletin, and all
other sources for clerkship opportunities that may arise.
- Prepare for clerkship interviews-they are very important! Some are by telephone,
many are in person. Some are one-on-one; others may be by a panel. All are at your expense.
Prepare for the possibility that you could be offered a job immediately after your interview!
Consult Career Strategy or any member of the Faculty Clerkship Committee for guidance.
Third Year Later Fall: Apply Again & Follow Up!
- Prepare another batch of applications, this time to courts where you may not have
applied yet, like state intermediate appellate courts, high courts in other states,
specialized federal courts (e.g., Bankruptcy, Court of Claims, Tax Court, etc.). Each
application should include the same things as the federal court applications. Again, because
some judges like to hire people with ties to the local community, if you have such ties (if you
attended college there, for example), mention them in your cover letter.
- Tell the professors who are writing your recommendations that you have submitted your
applications. Give the professors a diskette containing the names and addresses of the new
judges to whom you will apply. Do not feel shy about asking professors to do another mailing for
you. Once they have written your reference, it is on file and it is no trouble to mail it out again to
different judges.
- Review and repeat all prior steps, as necessary!!
Third Year Later Fall (October/November Onward): Explore New Markets!
- Compile a new batch of applications, this time focusing on state trial court
judges or other specialized courts where you haven't applied. Don't forget previously
listed judges who told you they only consider 3rd Years. Each application should include the
same things as the other applications.
- Explore clerkships with Federal or State Administrative Law Judges, or as Pro Se
Clerks, or as Court/Staff Attorneys for Federal or State Courts. These can be excellent
opportunities to get good experience in the field or geographic location that interests you.
- Tell the professors who are writing your recommendations that you have submitted your
applications. Give the professors a diskette containing the names and addresses of the state trial
court judges to whom you will apply. Again, do not feel shy about asking professors to do another
mailing for you. Once they have written your reference, it is on file and it is no trouble to mail it out
again to different judges.
- Review and repeat all prior steps, as necessary!
Third Year Spring (January Onward): Be Creative and Persistent!
- Continue checking all available sources for clerkship opportunities.
- Review and repeat all prior steps, as necessary!
- After you've secured your judicial clerkship, make sure to let Career Strategy know so you can
be a resource to other students in the future!
- Look forward to graduation and to starting a great judicial clerkship in the fall!!
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