Judges at all levels require assistance in deciding cases, and most judges hire recent law school graduates as clerks. The tasks performed by judicial clerks vary from judge to judge, but all clerks do a substantial amount of library research, usually finding and reading precedents for the cases before the court. Most judges also ask their clerks to summarize arguments in briefs, write initial drafts of opinions, and attend trials, hearings, or oral arguments.
Judges typically hire two or three clerks, depending on the court.
A judicial clerkship makes for an excellent transition from law school to the practice of law. But judicial clerkships are more than simply an extension of law school. They provide clerks with the valuable opportunity to observe many experienced lawyers in action by reading their briefs and watching their oral arguments and trial tactics. Judicial clerks do not simply observe from a distance, they participate in the process with an experienced judge as a guide. It is no wonder that former judicial clerks are coveted by law firms and other employers.