How a Judicial Externship Can Help Your Legal Career

How a Judicial Externship Can Help Your Legal CareerHow a Judicial Externship Can Help Your Legal CareerAs a law student, youll have a number of opportunities for career-enhancing off-campus activities. One fantastic opportunity is a judicial externship, i.e. working for a judge, either during the semester or over the summer. If your school is located near any chambers, this is definitely an opportunity to investigate. What You Will Do As a Judicial Extern When you work as a judicial extern, youll typically do work similar to that done by the judges clerks. (One notlagee,dont call yourself a judicial clerk or law clerk when youre a judicial extern. This terminology is typically reserved for the judges full-time clerks whove graduated from law school.) On an average day, you might work on a memo on a particular issue of law that the parties briefed in advance. You might do research on evidentiary rules if youre in a trial court. Youll probably also have the opportunity to observe court proceedings, including trials, jury selection, and motion hearings. Youll likely help draft opinions that the judge will issue. How Being a Judicial Extern Can Help Your Legal Career Working as a judicial extern can be very interesting and exciting, and is highly beneficial to your development as a lawyer. As you read briefs and motions, youll learn more about how to construct a winning legal argument (and what notto do). Youll see whats compelling at oral argument and in briefs, and youll get a mglichkeit to peek behind the scenes and see how judges actually decide cases. Of course, youll improve your own research and writing skills And, youll (hopefully) gain a mentor and advocate for the rest of your legal career. When Judges Hire Their Own Externs As Law Clerks Potential externs often wonder how working for a judge as an extern might impact their later application forjudicial clerkships. The answer is, It depends. Some judges have a policy ofneverhiring their own e xterns as clerks, and are typically upfront about this policy when you apply to extern. The logic behind this is that extern and law clerk slots are limited, and its not fair to let one person have both. Other judges, however, do openly hire their own externs, and essentially use the externship as an extended interview. If the question doesnt come up in your initial externship interview, its probably safe to assume the judge doesnt have a strong policy one way or the other, but its worth asking about if this is a judge youd really like to clerk for (as a full law clerk). Even if you extern for a judge who wont hire externs as clerks, all is not lost. Assuming you do a good job and the judge likes you, theres a high likelihood theyll put in a good word for you with their judge friends, drastically improving your chances of securing a full clerkship when the time comes. How You Can Get a Judicial Externship Each school is different, but to apply for a judicial externship, youll ty pically have to submit a resume, cover letter, and writing sample. Some judges might also require references, so its worth getting to know your professors early on (office hours are a great way to build these relationships). Ask around and youll find out the details. Be sure to check with students who previously worked with the judges youre considering. Most are nice, but some judges are notoriously hard to work for, and perhaps are best avoided Existing Options The range of judicial externship options will depend on whats close to your school, or where you can live (for the summer). The possibilities are vast Most state courts, federal courts, specialized local courts, trial courts, and appellate courts have options. Chose one that suits your career plans, and a judicial externship can set you on the way to legal career success