Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
Abstract
Judicial clerkships are in high demand for new law graduates. In this tight job market, applicants must possess outstanding applications. Applicants must be not only practice-ready, but also clerkship-ready. They must be people-oriented, with superb oral communication skills. They must be outstanding researchers and writers. And they must have a passion for discovering truth and promoting justice.
Students should embark on a clerkship-ready path during their first year of law school. First-year faculty members are uniquely poised to identify students with skills and traits inherent to successful clerks. Such students demonstrate intellectual excellence, superior work habits, and an ability to get along well with others.
Professors mentor interested stellar students through the clerkship application process. Mentoring begins with developing strategies for obtaining interviews with judges. Next, professors coach applicants on handling interviews and post-interview follow-ups for accepting clerkship offers. Finally, professors maintain post-clerkship contacts with graduatesand judges to facilitate future elbow clerkships.
Recommended Citation
Laurie A. Lewis, Clerkship-Ready: First-Year Law Faculty are Uniquely Poised to Mentor Stellar Students for Elbow Employment with Judges, 12 APPALACHIAN J.L. 1 (2012).