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Federal Court Clerkships: Application Timing

The Majority of Federal Judges Will Follow the 2013 Law Clerk Hiring Plan

• Applications from third year, as well as 4L evening, law students can be received beginning on August 19, 2013.
• Judges can begin scheduling interviews on Tuesday September 3, 2013, to be held on or after September 9, 2013.
• On September 9, 2013, judges may begin conducting interviews and extending offers.
• NOTE: Some federal judges will not follow the 2013 Law Clerk Hiring Plan and may have earlier deadlines, in particular the Circuit Courts of Appeal. There are more judges this year than in years past who are not following the Hiring Plan due to the DC Circuit's announcement earlier this year that it was no longer following the Plan. You will need to apply to these judges via paper and should do so as early as possible to maximize your chance of getting an interview.

Steps for Researching Federal Court Clerkships:

1. OSCAR is the first place to look for judge-specific hiring information. It is a searchable database of circuit judges, district judges, magistrate judges, bankruptcy judges, and other federal judges. NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list! Even if a judge is not listed, he or she may be hiring clerks.
2. Check the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR) - https://oscar.symplicity.com/ - for judges participating in this internet-based application system. ONLY apply to these judges through OSCAR (do not send paper applications).
3. Look at the court's website for any judicial clerkship hiring information (rarely present). Go to http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html for links to federal court websites.
4. If the above resources fail to answer your questions, use the Judicial Yellow Book and/or Almanac of the Federal Judiciary to identify judges by jurisdiction. It is acceptable to call chambers or the court with inquiries about application timing and requirements when the available resources fail to answer your questions. If you do not have time to call chambers, you can assume that these judges are accepting applications as of September 4, 2012 and send the standard application materials (cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample, and two or three letters of recommendation). Note: The Judicial Yellow Book is only accessible when you are on the WCL network here at the law school.
5. Go to CareerLink for judge and court-specific hiring information for some federal courts.
6. Speak with professors, WCL alumni, and OCPD counselors about particular judges.

*See the Judicial Clerkship Resources section of this website for more information.