Summer Judicial Internship Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have a good number range of judges I should apply to in order to get a judicial internship my 1L summer?


Any idea whether it is better to intern the first half of summer or the last half? Some judges request you state your preference.

[BarbellDreams]

From what I heard many federal judges do not prefer 1L's to 2L's and this results in 1L's having to find state level judges to intern for. Obviously the lower the court is, the easier your chances should be. You A in Crim should definitely help some, but I would be absolutely stunned if you got a Supreme Court or Appellate Court internship as a 1L unless you have connections with someone who knows a judge.

[Anonymous User]

Do judicial internships require living near the chambers? Say you have connections with a federal judge in a city 2 hours away. Is it at all common for an intern to commute say once or twice a week?

[BarbellDreams]

I'm sure you can live wherever you want but realize that if you're from 2 hours away its not gonna be an excuse if you're late. It just seems smart to live within 30 minutes at the most in my opinion.

[Anonymous User]

OP here:

To give an update- I was able to get 2 judicial internships for the summer. While I'm sure connections with judges would help greatly, I was fortunate enough to get both internships with no connections. 1L's should know that it's possible to get summer internships with judges without connections. My advice: Apply broadly (different areas and different judges--federal: district, magistrate, and bankruptcy; state: appellate courts) and try to write personalized cover letters to the various judges and areas.