Legal
Judicial law clerk
Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.
Median pay
$64,920
Growth to 2035
+3%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
1,500
Time to qualify*
5 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Judicial law clerk
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Judicial law clerk: 32% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
- Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
- Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
- Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
- Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
- Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
- Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
- Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress.
Also called: Appellate Law Clerk · Career Judicial Law Clerk · Career Law Clerk · Judicial Assistant · Judicial Clerk · Judicial Law Clerk · Law Clerk · Law Researcher
Outlook and AI
Judicial law clerks held 14,000 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 14,400 by 2035 (+3%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Judicial law clerk vs. Lawyer
- Judicial law clerk vs. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
- Judicial law clerk vs. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers
- Judicial law clerk vs. Paralegal
- Judicial law clerk vs. Legal secretaries and administrative assistants
- Judicial law clerk vs. Court reporters and simultaneous captioners
- Judicial law clerk vs. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators
- Judicial law clerk vs. Compliance officer
- Judicial law clerk vs. Law teachers, postsecondary
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