Resources
Judicial Clerkships
Types of Clerkships
Other Federal Court Clerkships
The federal court system has numerous courts and clerkship positions, which have served as a stepping stone for various legal careers. Specialty courts also provide opportunities to develop expertise in specialized legal practices.
Types of Courts
- US Bankruptcy Court
- US Tax Court
- US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- Other Specialty Courts
- Administrative Law Judges
Timelines for Judicial Clerkship Applications
- OSCAR: Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (also known as OSCAR https://oscar.uscourts.gov/) opens early in the second semester of 2L year, and applications are released to participating judges in June. Information on the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan can be found here: https://oscar.uscourts.gov/federal_law_clerk_hiring_pilot.
- Individual Judges: Not every judge follows OSCAR timeline; students must check with courts in which they are interested for a timeline for applications to each judge.
- Typical Application Materials
- Interview Timing: Relatively soon after applications are released in OSCAR (for judges following OSCAR timeline) or soon after applications are submitted for other judges.
- Clerkship Offers: Typically, soon after interview is completed. Occasionally, an offer is made on the spot at the conclusion of an interview.
- Accepting Offers: Typically within twenty-four hours after offer is made.
Sources for Job Listings
- OSCAR https://oscar.uscourts.gov: The granddaddy of them all—OSCAR is a web-based system for federal law clerk and appellate staff attorney recruitment. It contains information about who is hiring and accepts and processes candidates’ applications and related letters of recommendation.
- US Courts (https://www.uscourts.gov/): Offers general information about US Courts, including publications, directories, news, and information. Some judges do not post their clerkship openings in OSCAR. Students can search in US Courts by selecting “Careers” and then selecting “Search Judiciary Jobs” and then inserting “Law Clerk” in the search by job title or keyword box. Some postings may be duplicates of OSCAR. The postings in US Courts can be browsed by state, circuit, district, etc.
- US Bankruptcy Court: (https://www.uscourts.gov/court-programs/bankruptcy).
- US Tax Court Law Clerk Program (https://www.ustaxcourt.gov/law_clerk_program.html): The US Tax Court Law Clerk Program website contains information on working as a law clerk in the US Tax Court in Washington, DC. The link to Judges who are currently recruiting clerks can be found under the “Application Procedure” title.
- US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (https://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/newcaaf/home.htm): The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces website contains information about the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, its opinions, schedules, rules, etc. Posted clerkships can be found under the “Employment,” in the sidebar.
Sources for Other Information
- Judicial Clerkships Committee: Members of the BYU Law School Judicial Clerkships committee are ready, willing, and able to help all students seeking clerkships.
- Professors, Alumni, and Law Students: Professors and alumni who have clerked for a judge and law students who have accepted offers to clerk for a judge can provide a well of information for students seeking clerkships.
- BYU Law School Judicial Law Clerks (BYU Law Judicial Clerk List): This list on the Judicial Clerkships Committee page contains a list of BYU law school graduates who have served as judicial clerks from 2010 until today.
- The Federal Judicial Center (FJC) (https://www.fjc.gov/): The FJC website contains the Federal Judges Biographical Database, which can be used to create customized lists of judges based on multiple categories, including nominating president, type of court, dates of service, and demographic groups.
- US Department of Justice—Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) (https://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-immigration-court-listing)—The EOIR website provides information on the Immigration Court at large plus the states which have immigration courts and their contact information including address, judges, etc.
- US Bankruptcy Court: https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy.
- US Court for International Trade: https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/.