Judicial Clerkships

Important Information About Clerkships

Northwestern Law supports the federal judges' hiring plan. Under this plan, student applications and faculty recommendations may not be received before September 6, 2011, for clerkships that begin in 2012. Law school graduates are not subject to the law clerk hiring plan, and may apply for federal clerkships at any time. For more detailed information on the plan, see the information posted at the D.C. Circuit's law clerk Web site.

Judges at almost all levels of the state and federal judiciaries employ recent law school graduates as clerks to assist them in their duties. In addition, some state supreme courts and federal courts of appeals employ recent graduates as staff attorneys who work for the court as a whole on such matters as preliminary motions and pro se appeals. Most clerkships are for one- or two-year terms. Applicants for federal court clerkships must be third-year students or law graduates and most state judges seek to hire third-year students or law graduates as well.

The nature of a law clerk’s work varies with the court and with the individual judge. In general, however, judicial clerks research legal issues in cases, observe and participate in various judicial proceedings, and write draft opinions and/or advisory memoranda for their judges. If you are interested in applying for a clerkship or would like to learn more about clerkships and the application process, download a copy of the Judicial Clerkship Handbook.

Judicial Clerkship Application Information | 2011 Faculty Clerkship Committee | Northwestern Law Historical Clerkship Data

Judicial Clerkship Application Information

Application Materials

Judicial Clerkship Handbook Updated 01/25/2012

Northwestern Symplicity

Instructions for Creating Judges List in Symplicity (pdf)

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Consent Form (pdf)

Clerkship Application Questionnaire (doc) Updated 04/09/08

Clerkship Interview Questionnaire (doc) Updated 04/09/08

Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR)

OSCAR System

OSCAR Applicant User Manual (pdf) Updated 07/20/07

OSCAR Explanation and Support

Mail Merge Documents

Cover Letter Instructions (pdf) Updated 08/24/07

Information Session - April 2009

Information Session Slides (pdf) Updated 03/03/2010

Information About Judges and Courts

Federal Law Clerk Information System

List of All Federal Court Websites

Federal Judges Biographical Database

Newly Appointed and Confirmed Judges

U.S. Courts Judicial Vacancies

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

U.S. Supreme Court Hiring Timetable (pdf)

General Information on Federal Courts

Federal Employment Policy for Non-U.S. Citizens

State Courts

State Courts and International Courts

State Judicial Clerkship Guide

2012 Faculty Clerkship Committee

If you have not already spoken to a Clerkship Committee member and would like advice regarding the clerkship process please see the following person based on the first letter of your last name:

A – F: Dana Hill

G – L: Josh Kleinfeld

M – S: Susie Spies Roth (Interim Chair)

T – Z: Sarah Schrup

Hanna L. Stotland - Associate Director, Career Center

Northwestern Law Historical Clerkship Data

Historical Clerkship Data (xls) Updated 03/22/2010

Historical Interview Data (xls) Updated 03/22/2010
This is a list of the judges who have not hired from NU Law, but who interviewed at least one NU candidate in the last 3 years, along with whether the candidate they interviewed was a 3L or an alumnus.