Judicial Clerkships from HLS

Office of Career Services
4020 Wasserstein Hall (WCC)
1585 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138

617-495-3119

The first judicial law clerk in the country reportedly was from Harvard Law School around 1875, and HLS has maintained a proud tradition of judicial clerks since then.

Recent Numbers

In recent years, we have had approximately 250+ judicial clerks each year.

Total Clerkships: 2020-2024*

As of 12/9/2025

Court20202021202220232024
U.S. Supreme7581010
U.S. Circuit108116117111127
U.S. District116119118122137
Other Federal78989
State Supreme2324211820
Other State4111084
Foreign15231
Total266288285280308

* We include data from 2020-2024 because judges continue to hire for 2025 term start dates throughout the 2025-2026 term year and those numbers are therefore not yet final. We update this page annually.

Geographic Spread

We are proud of our geographic breadth. In recent years, our judicial clerks have been stationed within 49 out of 50 states and within every regional circuit of the federal court system.

GEOGRAPHY: 2020-2024

As of 12/9/2025

Map of the United States showing the number of clerkships in each federal circuit. For detailed alternative text see the section
Map of the United States showing the number of HLS clerkships in each federal circuit for 2020-2024.
  • Alternative Text for Geography: 2020-2024

    The graphic above (Geography: 2020-2024) shows the geographic boundaries of the twelve regional circuits and one Federal Circuit. The number of clerkships is listed next to each region. The states included in each circuit and number of clerkships are as follows:

    First Circuit (includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island):
    Circuit – 39, District – 51, Other – 24

    Second Circuit (includes Connecticut, New York, and Vermont):
    Circuit – 77, District – 170, Other – 20

    Third Circuit (includes Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands):
    Circuit – 41, District – 35, Other – 15

    Fourth Circuit (includes Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia):
    Circuit – 32, District – 45, Other – 9

    Fifth Circuit (includes Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas):
    Circuit – 49, District – 33, Other – 3

    Sixth Circuit (includes Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee):
    Circuit – 61, District – 29, Other – 3

    Seventh Circuit (includes Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin):
    Circuit – 15, District – 26, Other – 4

    Eighth Circuit (includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota):
    Circuit – 21, District – 10, Other – 4

    Ninth Circuit (includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and Washington):
    Circuit – 98, District – 92, Other – 44

    Tenth Circuit (includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming):
    Circuit – 27, District – 23, Other – 11

    Eleventh Circuit (includes Alabama, Florida, and Georgia):
    Circuit – 48, District – 39, Other – 6

    DC Circuit (includes Washington, DC):
    SCOTUS 40, DC Circuit – 56, Federal Circuit – 15, DC District – 59, Other – 41

Advising Resources

Our program of advising about clerkships is robust, including the following resources:

  • Outreach beginning 1L year to introduce the opportunity and how to prepare in advance
  • Extensive written guidance on website and blog, The Bench
  • Group presentations and panel discussions
  • Individual appointments available
  • Three advisors (one full-time and two half-time), who all clerked
  • Vast network of HLS clerks for information
  • Library of evaluations from clerks and past applicants’ interviews
  • Services extend to alumni