Work with a judge prior to law school? How to prepare? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I may have an opportunity to get a clerkship prior to law school, due to my arguably overzealous persistence. I will obviously take the position, but I am most definitely not as qualified as a candidate who is already finished with L2 or L3. Although there are many reading lists available from schools such as Cornell and Yale, I am looking for a list tailored for a cub who is about to be thrown in with the wolves and has one chance to prove they have some teeth.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have the wherewithal to answer my question I am quite certain you have more than enough work in front of you. It is by the grace of God that I get this job and that you have decided to read this post.

Sincerely,
Rule 602

[nixy]

I don’t know that a pre-law internship with a judge is going to be that helpful. You’re not going to be able to do much of anything before law school and you probably won’t be given very much of substance to do. It depends a little on what kind of judge - is this a state trial court judge? If so, I would imagine you’ll do a lot of observation of court proceedings and some clerical or admin work. (Same for federal, although there are fewer proceedings at any given time.) If it’s an appellate court of any kind, I’d still think the same - maybe you’d get asked to read the record (court transcripts etc) for particular info/issues. But even law school interns aren’t very helpful a lot of the time - pre-law, I’m not sure what legal work a judge would/could have you do.

The only reading it would be at all helpful to do, I think, is whatever gives you a clear understanding of the different kinds of courts and what kind of work is done at each. (A lot of that may seem self-evident but I remember my 1L orientation going through those kinds of basics just to make sure everyone was on the same page starting classes.)

[mjb447]

I agree with the thrust of nixy's comment: from the sound of it, setting appropriate expectations is the best thing you can do to prepare. There probably won't be much overlap between your work and the work that clerks or even law school interns do (and n.b. you won't have a "clerkship," at least as the legal profession typically uses that term), and you might not have much of a chance to "prove you have some teeth" in terms of doing legal work. I supervised several interns in chambers, and it was actually pretty aggravating when one of them would try to "show initiative" or something by doing legal analysis I didn't need at the expense of what I actually asked them to do.

On the bright side, though, expectations for interns are so low that, in most chambers, you'll get a lot of credit just for doing well the work they've given you to do and showing an interest in the work that chambers does. You can use this opportunity to build strong relationships with clerks and your judge early in your career, which is never a bad thing.

[decimalsanddollars]

The posters above have given great advice, especially the advice to calibrate your expectations appropriately and try to be as little of a nuisance as possible. I have clerked and supervised interns, and the best interns do exactly what you ask and not other things; ask the right kinds and amount of questions; and don't make more work for the clerks or the judge. If you want to read a book, stick to Abigail Perdue's "All-Inclusive Guide to Judicial Clerking," and pay special attention to the first chapters about how courts work generally.

I will also say this: I don't really like your tone, and if an intern had talked the way you talk about me/the job, it would annoy me. Deference and respect are important, but you need to work on communicating deference and respect without sounding groveling or presumptuous. This specific communication skill is especially important when working with judges, who have people trying to suck up to them every day; they see right through it. I think your head is in the right place, though, and I imagine you'll be successful at this pre-law-school-internship-thing (which, as mjb77 indicated, is NOT a clerkship) with effort and self-awareness to fit the task.

[lavarman84]

Will echo what others said. Just focus on doing your tasks well. Be willing to work. Make sure you listen and write down instructions (carry a pen and pad with you around the office so you don't miss anything). Also, if you're uncertain or have questions, try to think through it first, have some solutions in mind, and make sure there isn't some other source that can answer your question.

When I supervised interns, I was always willing to answer questions. I'd rather you ask the question and do it right than not ask and do it wrong, but I was a lot more impressed with interns who had clearly thought through the questions they had and tried to offer options/solutions. It told me that they had really considered things before asking.

Just try to keep in mind that most interns end up causing more work for the law clerks and judge. There are few interns who are ready to step into chambers and be a net contributor (and that's including law students). We are happy to have interns because we like mentoring people. But like the others said, do your best not to be a nuisance. Keep in mind that the law clerks and judge have a job to do and will be busy at times, so try not to waste their time or be disruptive.

[cavalier1138]

Moved to the proper forum, since (as mentioned) this isn't a clerkship question.