In law school, a judicial clerkship is often portrayed as an end in itself. However, clerking is an invaluable experience for aspiring litigators and a unique opportunity to view litigation from behind the bench. Yet the common feature of most judicial clerkships is that they eventually end. Despite this reality, few resources discuss how current law clerks should approach finding post-clerkship employment.
There is a perception within the legal profession that clerkships are golden tickets to any job in the legal market. Though clerking is a valuable experience, not every clerkship equally equips young lawyers for every type of litigation. Consequently, much ink has already been spilled discussing how to approach the application process; prospective clerks who need guidance on where to apply could peruse, for example, A Short and Happy Guide to Judicial Clerkships.
Once your clerkship has begun, however, a range of factors will influence how much it helps your job hunt. For instance, experience in a trial court will not necessarily prepare you for all facets of appellate practice; the litigation experience gained in a clerkship is not directly relevant to many transactional roles; the relatively cloistered experience of an appellate clerkship may do little to prepare you to work directly with clients as a public defender. In short, the extent to which your clerkship boosts your job search will vary. Accordingly, law clerks who have not yet secured a post-clerkship job should think carefully about
The first step is deciding what type of work you want to do. Perhaps your ideal job is to work in a specific area of law or at a large law firm in a major market, strike a particular work-life balance, or live in a specific state or city. No matter how you answer this question, you must answer it on some level because it will narrow your job search. Reflect on what you have enjoyed about your clerkship—have you enjoyed the busyness of being in court, working on specific types of cases, or writing longer opinions and orders? All those experiences can inform your next job choice. It can also be helpful to talk to your judge, your judge’s colleagues, or staff attorneys about their career path and why they made their career decisions. If you do not know what you want to do next, look for an answer right where you are.
A common question for law clerks is when to apply for a post-clerkship job. The first thing to consider is whether your judge has a policy for when you may start applying for post-clerkship work—although many judges are comfortable with their law clerks applying and interviewing throughout their clerkship, some ask their clerks to wait until a certain point for screening purposes. For federal law clerks, some Advisory Opinions relevant to your ethical obligations are Opinions #73 (Letters of Recommendation), #74 (Pursuit of Future Employment), and #83 (Payments to Law Clerks from Future Employers).
Overall, the best practice is to have an open conversation with your judge regarding your job search, ideally before you start contacting potential employers. This serves the dual purpose of avoiding conflicts with your judge and securing the judge’s support throughout the process. Don’t forget your judge is your most valuable resource—your judge is a respected lawyer who knows and is known by the local bar. Their support can be dispositive to your application.
Beyond chambers-specific considerations, the timeline for submitting applications depends heavily on what type of post-clerkship job you want. Law clerks who want to transition to practice through a fellowship might need to apply early, perhaps before their clerkship starts. For instance, for fellowships starting in Fall 2025, the application deadline for an Equal Justice Works fellowship was September 10, 2024, and the deadline for Skadden Fellowships was September 6, 2024. Accordingly, law clerks interested in a specific fellowship or post-graduate research position should research the relevant application timeline.
Law clerks seeking employment with a law firm can find a wealth of information in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers. In particular, a number of firms specify in the “Recruitment and Hiring” sections of their NALP profiles when judicial law clerks should apply; Latham and Watkins, for example, instructs law clerks to apply in the early spring of their arrival year, whereas Kirkland and Ellis instructs law clerks to apply “as soon as possible.” Of course, if a law firm has not posted application information for law clerks on NALP or its website, you can contact the firm’s recruiting contact for information. A good rule of thumb is to contact or apply to target law firms no later than six months before the end of your clerkship.
Law clerks interested in public-interest work will often have to identify prospective employers or agencies on their own, mostly because hiring processes vary widely in the public-interest sphere. Fortunately, most government jobs and nongovernmental organizations have intuitive hiring processes. But remember that government hiring processes (especially for federal positions) can be slow, so apply sooner rather than later; an example is the Department of Justice’s Honors Program, which requires prospective attorneys starting in Fall 2025 to submit applications by September 3, 2024. One helpful resource for clerks interested in legal aid or public defense is the National Legal Aid and Defender Organization’s Job Board, which is updated frequently.
A common difficulty for law clerks seeking a specific public interest position arises when there are no job openings for the position. In that case, reach out to attorneys currently in that role. They are often willing to provide information on when hiring might open or may be able to point you toward jobs that can feed into your targeted position.
Altogether, the search for judicial law clerks is often not as easy as might be expected, mostly because the onus is on law clerks to figure out where, when, and how to apply for post-clerkship work. Diligence—along with getting an early start—is key.
Law clerks should not assume their target employers understand the value of a judicial clerkship. Some employers value clerkships less than others. And sometimes, there simply is not an obvious fit between your clerkship and your target work. In such a situation, be ready and willing to explain why your clerkship makes you a stronger candidate.
An immigration court clerk seeking a position in commercial litigation, for example, should be prepared to explain how their experience in immigration court relates to general commercial litigation, perhaps by describing how much time they spent in court, their experience writing orders applying a legal standard, or their experience weighing issues of credibility. A district court clerk applying for a transactional role could explain how their clerkship will help them better understand the hazards of an improperly drafted contract. If your clerkship helped prepare you for your targeted job(s), do not assume that your target employers know so. Rather, explain this in your cover letters, phone calls, and interviews.
If you are a current law clerk who has not yet secured post-clerkship employment, you must be deliberate in your job hunt—your next job likely will not just fall into your lap. I hope this article helps you think through the process a bit more holistically.
Many thanks to Darya Anderson, Maxwell Dismukes, John Butzer, and Tessa Dysart for their thoughtful comments, which substantially improved this article.
