JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School
JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School
JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School
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Circuit and<br />
Contact Information<br />
1st Circuit<br />
Contact Information:<br />
Senior Staff Attorney<br />
Office of the Staff Attorneys<br />
U.S. Courthouse<br />
One Courthouse Way, Suite 5402<br />
Boston, MA 02210<br />
2nd Circuit<br />
Contact Information:<br />
Elizabeth Cronin<br />
Director and Senior Staff Attorney<br />
Office of Legal Affairs<br />
Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse<br />
New York, NY 10007<br />
3rd Circuit<br />
Contact Information:<br />
Marisa J.G. Watson<br />
Chief Deputy<br />
Office of the Clerk, Legal Division<br />
United States Court of Appeals for<br />
the Third Circuit<br />
600 Arch Street<br />
William J. Green, Jr. Federal Bldg, Room 4416<br />
Philadelphia, PA 19106<br />
4th Circuit<br />
Contact Information:<br />
Carolyn S. Neal<br />
Personnel Officer<br />
Office of Staff Counsel<br />
United States Court of Appeals for the<br />
Fourth Circuit<br />
600 E. Main Street, Suite 2200<br />
Richmond, VA 23219<br />
Staff Attorneys by Circuit<br />
Hires 3Ls? Hiring Timeline Application Characteristics/<br />
Docket Information<br />
No; post-JD<br />
graduate legal<br />
experience is<br />
required.<br />
Yes the office hires<br />
3Ls and law<br />
graduates.<br />
Hire on an as needed<br />
basis. Check<br />
Massachusetts<br />
<strong>Law</strong>yers’ Weekly<br />
(online) for positions.<br />
Beginning of<br />
October.<br />
Yes Beginning of<br />
October.<br />
Yes Beginning of<br />
October.<br />
1st Circuit hires for one- to two-year staff attorney positions<br />
with the possibility of extensions.<br />
Applicants should send résumé, law school transcript,<br />
unedited writing sample, and references.<br />
Prefer two years post-law school legal experience or one<br />
year of clerkship experience.<br />
2nd Circuit has two offices: General Office and Immigration<br />
and Asylum Unit.<br />
General Staff Attorney Office hires for two-year terms.<br />
Immigration and Asylum Section hires for one-year terms<br />
(which are renewable for a second year).<br />
Writing samples must be self-edited. Applicants are also<br />
given a writing exercise to complete.<br />
Work on criminal law, habeas corpus, §1983, and prisoner<br />
rights cases.<br />
The Staff Attorneys’ Office assists the Court by conducting<br />
research into specific areas of law as determined by the<br />
Court and drafting written memoranda of law. This work<br />
encompasses both substantive and procedural issues. Staff<br />
Attorney <strong>Law</strong> Clerks work on all substantive motions and<br />
pro se appeals. All procedural motions go through the<br />
Office of Legal Affairs.<br />
Staff Attorneys develop substantial expertise in the areas<br />
of habeas corpus, prisoners’ rights, constitutional law,<br />
civil rights, and employment discrimination. Staff Attorneys<br />
are appointed for a two-year term period. Depending<br />
on performance they can be asked to stay for yearly<br />
appointments up to five years.<br />
Paper and online applications accepted.<br />
Writing sample must be self-edited and submission of<br />
published written product is discouraged.<br />
Staff attorneys will develop substantial expertise in civil<br />
rights law and in federal appellate, civil, and criminal<br />
procedure.<br />
Two-year term.<br />
Paper and online applications accepted.<br />
Applicants must be in the top 20% of graduating class and<br />
have law review or similar legal publication experience.<br />
50% of the cases are prisoner civil rights and<br />
post-conviction relief appeals.<br />
25% are criminal convictions in federal district courts.<br />
25% are appeals from federal civil judgments and final<br />
decisions by various federal agencies.<br />
Two-year term.