Page 1 of 1
Intern for Federal Judge during this semester?
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 7:12 pm
by Anonymous User
2L here, with a SA position already lined up for the summer. Have an interview coming up to be an intern for a federal judge during this coming spring semester. The interview is only going to be with the judge's clerks. I presume that there will be a second round of interviews with the actual judge? Is this a worthwhile experience, or am I just going to be a mindless slave doing boring work while getting no credit because its just an "internship?" Also, what sorts of questions should I expect from this judge's clerks?
Re: Intern for Federal Judge during this semester?
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 7:23 pm
by Anonymous User
I would not expect a second interview with the judge, although that's possible. When I was a 1L, I interned for a judge, and my one and only interview was with a law clerk. I am currently a law clerk, and many of the judges at my court do not interview interns.
It is likely to be a worthwhile experience, but this is what you should find out during the interview. Ask about the type of work you will do. If they mention habeas or social security, and you have no interest in those, then run. (Usually district judges don't do a lot of that work or the court has some habeas attorneys, but some judges do it). If you will be writing memos and/or orders, I'd recommend doing it. It's a good experience. If you want to clerk, you will have a slight edge. Is there no way you can get school credit for this?
Hard to predict the type of questions. Could be anything from the general type of interview questions to questions about your favorite judges/judicial opinions to a riddle.
Re: Intern for Federal Judge during this semester?
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 7:44 pm
by DelDad
For my summer internship with a district judge, I interviewed only with the clerks.
As for the experience, it of course depends on the judge, but no one I know who interned for a federal judge experienced anything close to mindless drudgery. I learned a lot. I worked mostly on small stuff - orders in criminal matters, non-dispositive motions, etc. - but I also drafted a 30+ page IP law opinion, and participated in a negotiation between two large tech companies. Also had a lot of interactions with the judge, whose recommendations helped by get my job for the next summer and my current clerkship. Really good experience.
Re: Intern for Federal Judge during this semester?
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:05 pm
by Anonymous User
I interviewed for a summer gig with a judge about 3 weeks ago and it was with all the clerks and the judge. actually kind of interesting, we met for about an hour. pretty laid back interview, talked mainly about classes, what i had done previously, ec.. was offered the job on the spot and accepted.