During the spring of their 2L year, students interested in judicial clerkships should begin their search. To help you get started, the first two weeks in March PDO will host workshops to help students learn more about this topic. Next week, Professor Amy Wildermuth will present “Introducing Judicial Clerkships” on Wednesday March 3 at 12:15 in Room 107. The second week in March PDO will host a panel of current and former judicial clerks who will discuss their experiences clerking. In order to get the best information about a possible clerkship, PDO recommends that you consult online sources, talk to professors and colleagues who have clerked, contact the judge’s chambers if necessary, and use PDO resources including the PDO handbook and the PDO folder accessed through JOE.
Meanwhile, below is information about two notable websites you’ll need to use in your search for judicial clerkships.
1. “OSCAR”, an acronymn for the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review, is the application website for all federal judges who use the Law Clerk Hiring Plan: https://oscar.uscourts.gov/. This includes Circuit Judges, District Court Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Bankruptcy Judges. The plan sets dates for when applications may be received, when judges are allowed to contact applicants for interviews, and for when offers can be made. Applicants submit their applications online through Oscar and ask their recommenders to submit letters via Oscar as well. Although the 2010 application dates have not been published, in 2009 rising 3L students could access Oscar the third week in May. Applications could be received by judges the Tuesday after Labor Day.
2. The Northwest Consortium Judicial Clerkship Database is a password-protected website that has hiring information for state and federal judges: http://www.law2.byu.edu/career_services/government_publicservice/judicial_clerkships/rocky.php. Information posted may include hiring dates, salary, schools of current clerks, and application procedures. Search by state and type of court. The password is in the PDO folder on the shared network drive accessed through JOE.