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Judicial Clerkship Program

The 25th annual Judicial Clerkship Program, presented by the ABA Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and the ABA Judicial Division, will be held during the ABA Midyear Meeting January 30th to February 1st, in Phoenix, AZ. 

About the Judicial Clerkship Program (JCP)

The Judicial Clerkship Program (JCP) connects law students from diverse backgrounds across the nation with judges and law clerks. It educates students on the long-term benefits of judicial clerkships, offering a unique, hands-on experience over the course of three days. Participants engage in legal research, draft memoranda or briefs, and present their findings to peers, judges, and Pipeline members. The JCP is a collaborative initiative between the ABA Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and the ABA Judicial Division, with generous in-kind support from sponsors.

Please contact Kris Berliant at [email protected] or at (312) 988-5700 for questions.

If you have questions about law school participation in JCP, please contact Jason Ravin, Diversity Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Center, at [email protected] or (312) 809-8013.

Volunteer Opportunity for Judges

What’s involved:  Judges participate on panels, in social events, and are the heart of the Program's "research exercise." To acquaint the students with the working relationship between the judge and the law clerk, the students are convened in small groups of students with two or more judges assigned to each group. The students assume they are judicial clerks and that the judge they work for has been assigned to write an opinion on an issue pending before the Supreme Court. In four sessions the students discuss the issue with the judges and then, on their own, research and write between sessions.  Ultimately, they develop an outline of an opinion resolving the issue.  

Contact [email protected] to volunteer for the 2025 Judicial Clerkship Program on January 31 - February 1, during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Phoenix, AZ.

Judicial Division JCP Committee

Hon. James G. Gilbert, Co-Chair
Robert Saunooke, Co-Chair
Hon. Heather Welch, Co-Chair

JCP Related News

Midyear 2021: Judicial Clerkship Program boosts diverse law students, February 24, 2021

Watch Justice Frank Sullivan recieve suprise JCP honor at the  Diviersity Reception hosted by the Indianapolis Bar Association, December 2018

2018 Judicial Clerkship Program Pictures: April 19-21, 2018 in Chicago

Midyear 2017: Judicial Clerkship Program Offers Unique Opportunity

IU McKinney Students Attend Acclaimed ABA Judicial Clerkship Program, February 9, 2016

Law School/Student Participation

Law schools and others interested in supporting the Judicial Clerkship Program, please contact Jason Ravin, Diversity Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Center, at [email protected] or (312) 809-8013.

2024 Participating Schools

  1. American Indian Law Center, Inc.
  2. Boston University School of Law
  3. Emory University School of Law
  4. Howard University School of Law
  5. IU McKinney School of Law
  6. Loyola University Chicago School of Law
  7. McGeorge School of Law
  8. Michigan State University College of Law
  9. Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
  10. South Texas College of Law Houston
  11. Southern University Law Center
  12. Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law
  13.  University of California, Irvine School of Law
  14. University of Connecticut School of Law
  15. University of Iowa College of Law
  16. University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
  17. University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law
  18. University of San Francisco School of Law
  19. University of Tennessee College of Law
  20. Vanderbilt Law School
  21. Willamette University College of Law