Find what the court must decide
Read the motion and the reply, separating what each side wants from the question the court must decide.
Career profile
Judicial Law Clerk
Judicial law clerks research past court cases and write analysis judges rely on when deciding.
Opposing attorneys can read the same ruling as backing opposite results, so you study the case file and relevant law, then explain whose reasoning holds.
A day in the life
Test past rulings against this case
Search Westlaw or LexisNexis and read the full rulings to judge whether past reasoning fits this dispute.
Write the judge's bench memo
Give the judge a summary of the case, each side's arguments and open questions for the hearing.
Shape a ruling with the judge
Draft an order or opinion, then discuss it with the judge and fix any gap the conversation exposes.
Quick facts
Usually a law degree
United States · 2025
$64,920 median
United States · 2025
2.8% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Usually a law degreePlan on professional study in law; individual courts also set academic and experience requirements.
Pay
$64,920 medianNational annual pay for judicial law clerks in 2025, equivalent to about $31.21 an hour.
Outlook
2.8% projected growthAbout 1,500 openings a year are projected nationally, including replacement openings.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy reading closely enough to notice when a conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
- You can explain a competing argument fairly, even when you disagree.
- You like making a paragraph more precise through revision.
Things to weigh
- Much of the work happens at a desk, reading and writing with sustained attention.
- You must keep internal case discussions confidential; interesting work is often something you cannot share with friends.
- Many federal clerkships last one or two years, so planning your next job can begin while you are still learning this one.
Where AI may help
Tools that generate text—generative artificial intelligence (AI)—can help search legal material and revise drafts. Some judges already use them, but court adoption varies.
What people still lead
You still check the actual cases and quotations. A convincing AI answer can invent a citation or misstate what a court decided.
What we can’t predict yet
How much first-draft work will shift to AI remains unsettled. That could also change how new clerks build the research and writing skills needed to catch mistakes.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use the national median as a reference point, then examine the particular court's salary and appointment terms.
The national spread
The 2025 median was $64,920 a year, about $31.21 an hour. The 10th and 90th percentiles were $46,180 and $113,140. Those are wage percentiles, not starting and senior salaries.
Court level can change pay
New Jersey's 2025–26 schedule paid $61,256 for Law Division trial-court clerks, $72,540 in the Appellate Division, and $79,456 in the Supreme Court. These covered 52 weeks; overlap weeks were paid separately. Check the rate for your appointment year.
Federal pay has its own rules
Federal clerk salaries reflect qualifying legal experience after graduation, bar membership, and locality adjustments. The hiring judge sets the grade and step; experience does not guarantee a particular offer.
Openings include people leaving
Employment is projected to grow 2.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,500 openings annually from growth and replacement needs. These are projected openings, not a count of jobs available today.
Getting started
Enter a state clerkship after law school
Paid
- What the route involves
- Complete law school, then research cases and prepare written analysis in a court's graduate clerkship.
- What it can lead to
- A first paid role working closely with judges and seeing how proceedings turn into decisions.
- What to check
- Rules vary by state. New Jersey requires graduation from an American Bar Association–approved law school within the previous four years, plus a background check.
Apply to a federal judge
Paid
- What the route involves
- Complete law school and meet the judge's academic requirements. You can apply as a graduate or bring legal work experience that some judges prefer.
- What it can lead to
- A federal clerkship researching disputes and drafting proposed rulings for a judge.
- What to check
- Federal minimums require demonstrated academic proficiency and a fingerprint check. Bar admission is not a universal entry requirement, but is required for higher pay grades; judges may add requirements.
The usual foundation is a law degree. You work for the court: your research and recommendations support the judge, who makes the decisions.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the judge's memo format, court procedures, and expectations for handling confidential information.
Strengthen your analysis
Build from summarizing filings to explaining competing legal options clearly and drafting more complete proposed rulings.
Pursue a longer court career
Consider a career law clerk appointment if you want sustained work in chambers. It is a separate hiring opportunity, not an automatic extension of a term clerkship.
Where you can work
Trial-court chambers
Pending motions and live proceedings shape your workload. An issue raised during trial can require a quick research memo while other cases keep moving.
- Indoors
- Office
Appellate chambers
You work from lawyers' briefs and the record of earlier proceedings. Preparing for argument means identifying what the judges still need clarified.
- Indoors
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Choose a short published court opinion. Write a half-page memo identifying the question, each side's position, and the court's reasoning. Mark one sentence you had to reread. Notice whether untangling the argument makes you curious enough to keep going.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Judicial Law Clerks — 23-1012.00. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Judicial Law Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–35. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Legal Careers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Qualifications, Salary, and Benefits. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Federal Judicial Center. Law Clerk Handbook, Fourth Edition. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- New Jersey Courts. Law Clerk 2026–2027. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- National Center for State Courts. A legal practitioner’s guide to AI & hallucinations. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- National Center for State Courts. Judicial use of generative AI: Lessons learned. Accessed 2026-10-04.