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Judicial Clerkships Becoming More Scarce and More Difficult to Attain

Posted May 4, 2009 12:14 PM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

New law grads who think they can find refuge in a government job in a tight employment market may be in for disappointment, according to a career services official at the University of Kansas School of Law.

Todd Rogers, assistant dean of career services, told the Kansas City Star that experience is increasingly a requirement for government agencies hiring lawyers. “I’ve had government employers comment that they haven’t seen application pools this deep in 10 years,” Rogers said. “It’s definitely a buyer’s market.”

Even some federal judges who once hired law clerks right out of law school now want lawyers with experience, the story says. The news is also bad for lawyers seeking judicial clerkships in the state courts. Fewer clerkships are available on the state level because those who hold the jobs now are staying put, according to the article.

Comments

1.

JDirk
May 4, 2009 3:36 PM CST

You should just have the homepage for this website read, “You’ll never get a job when you graduate and if you’re a practicing attorney be prepared for a lay-off” instead of this piecemeal doom and gloom business.

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2.

B. McLeod
May 5, 2009 1:05 AM CST

There is no denying the troubles, but I think quite a few graduates are still being hired, and the April layoffs were considerably down from March.  Hence, not all the reports are gloom and doom.  It appears the ABA writers are trying to present current information in a way that is accurate enough to be potentially useful, and the news is what it is.  That whole, “don’t shoot the messenger” thing comes to mind.

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3.

Al Veoli
May 5, 2009 4:28 AM CST

There are more judges than ever, and they must have clerks to get the job done.  Don’t let these dorks fool you.  There ARE jobs out there.  I can’t get those jobs because I have experience.  Debra must pay the rent until I get work.

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4.

Clerk Wannabe
May 5, 2009 6:20 AM CST

Al Veoli, few clerkships are available to those who don’t have family members to pay their rent and buy a used car for them.  With the state clerkship salaries, a recent graduate can barely make interest-only payments (cf. Neg. Am. Loans that crushed the housing industry).  Nevermind affording rent in the municipality where the judge is located, transportation costs, and food.  For example, the State of New York canceled both the Legal Fellowship Program for 2009-2010 and the clerkship program for the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court for 2009-2010.  No major legal outlet reported this when it happened in early January because it was when the massive BIGLAW layoffs occurred.  In fact, I was stunned.  I graduated in May 2008 and had prayed that I could find a state clerkship in NY, where I’m licensed.  My only relief, albeit temporary, was that the letter I received indicated that individual clerkship opportunities would be advertised through the NY State Unified Court System website.  To date, one position has appeared in Brooklyn.

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5.

JN
May 5, 2009 10:54 AM CST

Well, since the law schools and the ABA are complicit in metastasizing matriculation and graduation of entirely too many law students, perhaps this piecemeal doom and gloom is a bit like penance. Granted, it’s similar to the media decrying the sensationalism of swine flu and then subsequently featuring three stories on its spread, but hey, every little bit helps.

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