Tag: Clerkships

May 27, 2022
Aimed at students and alumni who have secured clerkships and are wondering what to expect during their time in chambers, this pre-recorded panel discussion with four HLS alumni covers topics such as: how to prepare prior to clerking, what to expect in first few weeks in the role, types of assignments a clerk may encounter, and how to approach a post-clerkship job search.

While some clerkship applicants are lucky to have immediate success, most need to be persistent about their searches over time to get payoff. We emphasize the hiring plan date as an official kickoff for students covered by it, but typically hundreds of judges act later in the official hiring cycle. The majority of HLS applicants who get clerkships to start right after graduation tend to get them during 3L year rather than in June between their 2L and 3L years.  Alumni patterns are even more scattered throughout the calendar year.

New judges are appointed regularly and can provide exciting additional clerkship opportunities.  Some even line up prospective clerks before they are confirmed as judges. Nominees can be a particularly good option for alumni available for either an immediate start date upon confirmation or a more typical start date in the fall if a new judge wants to get “on cycle.”  

Clerkship interviews were traditionally done in person, with a few judges being receptive to telephone in unusual situations.  Then many judges were forced by COVID conditions to adapt, and many expressed pleasant surprise at how well virtual video interviews worked.  So hopefully they will continue that approach, at least as an option for you.  If […]

October 25, 2021
Engaging with HLS faculty makes for a more educational and enjoyable law school experience. More concretely, faculty recommendation letters are required in applications for certain types of jobs, including judicial clerkships.  Get insights from a panel of professors about how best to cultivate substantive relationships with them in our current environment.

October 14, 2021
If you aren’t already familiar with one of the most substantive jobs you can have at the beginning of a career in law, learn about this exciting option and how to develop your candidacy starting in your first year of law school. This webinar introduction, especially designed for 1L and transfer students, will set you up for further programming on the topic.

April 19, 2021
Hear from HLS clerkship advisors and a panel of 3Ls about how to successfully prepare for and navigate potential clerkship interviews. Some discussion will focus on the hiring plan date this summer for current 2Ls, but other students and alumni also will find the basic principles relevant.

March 31, 2021
This step of the clerkship application process probably will take the most time. With many different types of courts and thousands of judges among them, you will need to set some priorities and related parameters for your search.

March 11, 2021
Hear firsthand from a member of the judiciary about his background and work. Among other interesting facts, Justice Couriel '03 is a Florida native who has worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. His parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1960s, his father as one of approximately 14,000 unaccompanied minors welcomed to the United States as part of Operation Pedro Pan.