- Administrative Law Judges: More than 30 federal government departments and agencies employ more than 1,000 administrative law judges (ALJs) who hire law clerks (called administrative assistants or special assistants). For example, each year the Executive Office of Immigration Review (through the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney
General’s Honors Program), hires approximately 20 law clerks to assist Chief Immigration Judges throughout the nation for a one-year period. Other federal administrative courts include the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Drug Enforcement Agency, Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services Appeals Board, National Labor Relations Board, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and Benefits Review Board. Clerking for an ALJ is an excellent way to begin your career, especially if you are interested in working in the field that is regulated by that particular agency. The best approach for finding openings is to contact the ALJs at the agencies you would like to work for.
- Alliance for Justice: Includes judicial selection resources such as demographic lists and tables of sitting federal judges based on categories such as the appointing president, ethnicity, and gender. The site also includes reports on nominations and the confirmation process.
- Almanac of the Federal Judiciary: A great resource when researching federal judges. Provides profiles for every federal trial and appellate judge in the U.S., including important bankruptcy judges and magistrate judges. Profiles include judge's academic and professional background, experience on the bench, noteworthy rulings, and media coverage. Profiles are provided by lawyers who have tried cases before their respective federal judges. (Available in the Tarlton Law Library).
- BNA's Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges, and Clerks: The directory provides detailed contact information on the nation’s judges and clerks along with the extensive details on the structure of federal, state, and territorial courts and is available in the CSO Resource Library.
- CSO’s Judicial Clerkship Evaluation Binder and Judicial Clerkship Interview Binders: Available in the CSO Resource Library, these binders include UT Law students' and graduates' evaluations about their clerkship and internship experiences and the application processes of various judges. Many provide contact information so that you can talk with them in person or over the phone.
- Directory of Minority Judges of the United States: The most comprehensive compendium of all minority judges in the U.S., with geographical listings of African-American, Asian/Pacific Island, Hispanic, Native American, and Tribal Court Judges. More than 4,000 minority federal, state, and administrative law judges; commissioners, magistrates, referees, justices of the peace, and hearing officers are listed. Available in the CSO Resource Library.
- Federal Judicial Center: Research and education agency of the federal judicial system and offers short biographies of federal judges and histories of federal courts.
- The Guide to State Judicial Clerkship Procedures: The 2010 Guide to State Judicial Clerkship Procedures, published by the Vermont Law School Career Services Office, gives an overview of application procedures in all state courts.
- Job Bank on Symplicity: The CSO Job Bank lists internships and clerkships throughout the year for students, recent graduates and alumni.
- Intercollegiate Job Bank: Maintained by the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, the bank lists graduate job bulletins from more than 110 law schools throughout the U.S. Many of the bulletins, if not all of them, list judicial clerkships.
- International Tribunals and Foreign Courts: Published by Yale Law, this handout provides information regarding some of the courts outside of the U.S.—international tribunals
and intergovernmental courts, as well as national courts—where current law students and graduates may
find temporary positions, paid and unpaid.
- Judicial Clerkships.com: Offers information and advice about judicial clerkships, as well as links to court sites and judicial clerkship listings. This site further provides a forum for students and judicial clerks to exchange information about applying for judicial clerkships and to share their judicial clerkship experiences.
- Leadership Library on the Internet (a.k.a. Yellow Books): Updated daily, this unique personnel contact database enables you to reach individuals at judicial chambers via the Judicial Yellow Book.
- NALP Judicial Clerkship Resources: includes tips for students spending their summer in the private sector who may be interested in obtaining a judicial clerkship.
- National Center for State Courts: Links to numerous state and international courts.
- Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR): OSCAR is a single, centralized resource for notice of available federal clerkships, clerkship application information, and law clerk employment information.
- Staff Attorney Positions at Federal Circuit Courts (NALP Bulletin, December 2008): One employment opportunity with the judiciary that is often overlooked is the staff attorney position within the federal circuits. Staff attorney positions are a great way to get an overview of, and experience with, federal appellate practice.
- Texas Judiciary Online: Link to the Texas courts, which will sometimes post clerkship openings online.
- U.S. Courts: Links to federal judicial vacancies and confirmations.
- U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Legal Policy (OLP): The data on this site provide an overview of the nomination and confirmation activity relating to each Congress since the 107th and includes biographies and other supporting materials on judicial nominees, along with lists of nominees, confirmations, and status of "blue slips" from home senators.
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee: Most up-to–date listings of recent nominations and confirmations for all judiciary posts. Calendar of committee hearings and other actions, as well as a status list for pending nominations and list of confirmations is available on the U.S. Senate Web site.
- University of Michigan’s Judicial Nominations Database: The Law School’s Office of Career Services maintains a database of all recent federal judicial nominations and recent confirmations.
- UT Law Mentor Directory: You will find more than 150 judicial mentors in the UT Law Mentor Directory which is available on Symplicity under the [Mentor Directory] tab.
- The Value of Judicial Clerkships to a Transactional Career (NALP): For a future litigator or student who is uncertain about which practice area to pursue, the benefits of a judicial clerkship are evident as clerkships offer an opportunity to rigorously improve legal research and writing skills, as well as learn the elements of effective advocacy.
- Yale Law Library: Lists current judicial nominations and includes current contact information.
Databases such as Lexis, Westlaw, and Findlaw are good sources for opinions and articles about and for judges. Additional information on clerkships is available through Lexis’s JCLERK, as well as Westlaw’s WLD_JUDGE and WLD_CLERK, but be sure to check the date they were updated.
This, as well as other judicial resources, is available in the CSO Resource Library:
Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships
