The majority of the permanent Cornell Law School faculty served as judicial clerks. Finally, even for those who do not seek a career in litigation, clerkships can be quite valuable. While many Cornell clerkship applicants seek federal clerkships, there are a lot of advantages to state-court clerkships as well. First, clerking for a state court judge quickly establishes ties to the local legal community.
This is especially important, even if you had previous ties to the geographic area. Local practitioners may take the view that a state clerkship evidences a particularly high level of commitment to the area. Also, an important element in considering a state court clerkship is the type of practice you want to move on to after your clerkship is over. Clerking in a state court will give you an opportunity to gain insight into employers for whom you might want to work when your clerkship ends.
Or, if you are attracted to working for a state agency, law firm or public interest organization that operates in the state-court venue, a state court clerkship is invaluable. Another reason that state court clerkships may be of particular interest is that they are open to JD students that are non-U. We encourage you to read the feedback we have collected from Cornell graduates who have clerked in federal and state courts. Their comments are overwhelmingly positive and provide tremendous insight into the clerkship experience.
Some discuss the clerkship search process as well. Most state court systems mirror the structure of the federal system, with trial courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate appellate courts, and a court of last resort. In addition to these courts of general jurisdiction, most states also have trial courts of limited jurisdiction as well.
Some states, like New Jersey, hire hundreds of new clerks annually for one- to two-year clerkships for their trial, appellate, and highest court. Others, such as New York and California, do not hire clerks routinely since judges in those states prefer their legal staff to commit to long-term positions. Review our online state court resources here to learn more about specific states. Practically speaking, clerkships with the Supreme Court are available only following clerkships with other courts.
If you think you are interested in a clerkship with the Supreme Court, speak with a member of the Faculty Clerkship Committee or a faculty member who has clerked there.
Contact Dean Peck for a list of faculty members who have clerked in this court. The district courts are grouped into circuits the First through the Eleventh Circuit and the D. Circuit with one court of appeals in each circuit. The courts of appeal consider appeals from their district courts and review rulings of administrative tribunals such as the Board of Immigration Appeals and the National Labor Relations Board.
This court has jurisdiction over appeals from district courts in cases involving patents and certain claims against the United States, the U. The principal function of the clerk for an appellate judge is to research the issues of law and fact presented by an appeal and review transcripts of proceedings below for errors by the trial judge or counsel. Appellate clerks do attend oral arguments; however, there is significantly less time spent in court than at the trial level.
Appellate opinions typically contain an exhaustive and detailed analysis of the law, and these opinions are frequently published. District courts have jurisdiction over cases arising under federal question and diversity jurisdiction and comprise the first level of the federal court system.
District courts consider a wide range of civil and criminal matters. There are 94 U. Since district courts are trial courts, a law clerk at this level is involved in the many decisions that take place at every stage of the litigation process. Briefs submitted tend to be shorter than at the appellate level. Decision making is fact oriented. A clerk may assist with discovery disputes, settlement conferences, pretrial, trial, and post-trial motions, and, in criminal cases, sentencing. Trial court clerks, in general, have substantial contact with attorneys and witnesses.
District court opinions are published only when the trial judge elects. Each federal district court has magistrate judges attached to it. Each district establishes its own rules regarding the assignments that may be made to magistrate judges. Post by ph14 » Mon Sep 17, am. Post by » Mon Sep 17, am. Post by anon » Mon Sep 17, pm. Post by Gorki » Mon Sep 17, pm. Post by Byakuya » Mon Sep 17, pm.
Post by bk1 » Mon Sep 17, pm. Post by » Mon Sep 17, pm. Privacy Terms. Quick links. Forum rules Anonymous Posting Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned. Should I clerk? Permanent job offer in my desired market with my 1L firm that will remain open for one year if I decide to clerk. I want to do litigation. There is no clerkship bonus, but I will receive a year of partnership credit. My ultimate goal is to become a partner at a large firm in this market.
I have no desire to teach and don't think I would want to be a judge. I really do not want want to relocate far from where my job will be. Moreover, there is typically a lower clerk-to-judge ratio than there is an associate-to-partner ratio. A single partner at a large or medium law firm may indirectly work with ten or more entry-level associates.
In contrast, a supreme court justice may work directly with up to five clerks while judges presiding over lower courts may work directly with one to three clerks. Often times, in busy courts like Los Angeles Superior Court, a single clerk may even work for multiple judges. The result of the low clerk-to-judge ratio is an ideal working situation for young lawyers. A clerk is to expect two major benefits from working with a judge in the above described intimate setting.
First, the clerk's writing and advocacy techniques will blossom through direct and indirect constructive criticism of work product. Second, the clerk will likely gain one of the best mentors because the clerk can tap into his or her judge's network and knowledge of the legal marketplace, which could very well have been expanding for decades.
Unlike judicial clerks, young associates are unlikely to gain the same relationship with a partner at a law firm a similar same rate due to the indirect working relationship between the two. Fourth: Seeing Good and Bad Advocacy. One source of anxiety for a new associate is being asked to draft a motion, but not having the slightest clue what the requested motion is. It has been said many times: law school trains you only to think like a lawyer. This training will certainly help an associate to discover what the requested motion is.
However, most of this leg work would likely result in time spent researching that cannot be billed. A judicial clerkship provides a constant exposure to different motions. This includes non-dispositive discovery motions, motions that seek judgments on the merits, post-trial motions, and too many more to describe here. Seeing the different types of motions and diving into the details of each tends to prepare a clerk better for a later assignment to draft moving, opposing, or reply papers.
More specifically, clerks work with more unfamiliar motions than similarly senior associates, which, in turn, likely will give clerks an advantage in researching motions in the future. There are many benefits to be gained in clerking for a judge. The six described above are just a glimpse of why law students, graduates, and attorneys should consider a judicial clerkship.
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