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The Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) provides the salary coverage for law clerks. The federal judiciary uses the same locality rates as the executive branch. [...]

The hiring judge, as the appointing authority, assigns a selectee's grade and step, and thus sets the salary, at the time of appointment. A law clerk’s salary depends upon legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school, bar membership, and applicable locality pay adjustments:

JSP-11, step 1 – Law school graduates with academic excellence and no legal work experience. Annual base salary is $51,298 (plus applicable locality rate).
JSP-12, step 1 – One or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $61,486 (plus applicable locality rate).
JPS-13, step 1 – Two or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $73,115 (plus applicable locality rate).

Anonymous User wrote:From Oscar:

The Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) provides the salary coverage for law clerks. The federal judiciary uses the same locality rates as the executive branch. [...]

The hiring judge, as the appointing authority, assigns a selectee's grade and step, and thus sets the salary, at the time of appointment. A law clerk’s salary depends upon legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school, bar membership, and applicable locality pay adjustments:

JSP-11, step 1 – Law school graduates with academic excellence and no legal work experience. Annual base salary is $51,298 (plus applicable locality rate).
JSP-12, step 1 – One or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $61,486 (plus applicable locality rate).
JPS-13, step 1 – Two or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $73,115 (plus applicable locality rate).

(1) why would a judge not appoint you at the highest appropriate level? Do they face the decision, say, of hiring 3 clerks at a high met salary or 4 at a lower one? Do they have a limited budget? Or will the judiciary approve the funds for the highest possible salary if appropriately approved be the individual judge?

(2) If one clerks after one or two "years" at a firm (really 11 or 23 months if an Aug clerkship but Sept firm start) does that count as "one" or "two" years, respectively, for pay scale calculation? Or does being one month short mean pay at the lower scale? Presumably you studied for the bar for more than a month so I guess that might count to round out the 1/2 year(s)....

Anonymous User wrote:curious about this stuff as well. If I qualify for "more" than JSP-13 (3 years experience) but not JSP-14, do I start off at like step 5 or whatever?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:From Oscar:

The Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) provides the salary coverage for law clerks. The federal judiciary uses the same locality rates as the executive branch. [...]

The hiring judge, as the appointing authority, assigns a selectee's grade and step, and thus sets the salary, at the time of appointment. A law clerk’s salary depends upon legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school, bar membership, and applicable locality pay adjustments:

JSP-11, step 1 – Law school graduates with academic excellence and no legal work experience. Annual base salary is $51,298 (plus applicable locality rate).
JSP-12, step 1 – One or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $61,486 (plus applicable locality rate).
JPS-13, step 1 – Two or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $73,115 (plus applicable locality rate).

(1) why would a judge not appoint you at the highest appropriate level? Do they face the decision, say, of hiring 3 clerks at a high met salary or 4 at a lower one? Do they have a limited budget? Or will the judiciary approve the funds for the highest possible salary if appropriately approved be the individual judge?

(2) If one clerks after one or two "years" at a firm (really 11 or 23 months if an Aug clerkship but Sept firm start) does that count as "one" or "two" years, respectively, for pay scale calculation? Or does being one month short mean pay at the lower scale? Presumably you studied for the bar for more than a month so I guess that might count to round out the 1/2 year(s)....

You want a judge to set your pay at a level you aren't technically entitled to receive? Um, no.

The pay scale is determined by full years. Nothing gets rounded. It has to be 365 days to count. So if you start with, say, 20 months of work experience as a lawyer you'll be JSP-12 for the first 4 months of the clerkship then JSP-13 thereafter.

ETA: sorry, missed that you said "highest appropriate"

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:From Oscar:

The Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) provides the salary coverage for law clerks. The federal judiciary uses the same locality rates as the executive branch. [...]

The hiring judge, as the appointing authority, assigns a selectee's grade and step, and thus sets the salary, at the time of appointment. A law clerk’s salary depends upon legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school, bar membership, and applicable locality pay adjustments:

JSP-11, step 1 – Law school graduates with academic excellence and no legal work experience. Annual base salary is $51,298 (plus applicable locality rate).
JSP-12, step 1 – One or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $61,486 (plus applicable locality rate).
JPS-13, step 1 – Two or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $73,115 (plus applicable locality rate).

(1) why would a judge not appoint you at the highest appropriate level? Do they face the decision, say, of hiring 3 clerks at a high met salary or 4 at a lower one? Do they have a limited budget? Or will the judiciary approve the funds for the highest possible salary if appropriately approved be the individual judge?

(2) If one clerks after one or two "years" at a firm (really 11 or 23 months if an Aug clerkship but Sept firm start) does that count as "one" or "two" years, respectively, for pay scale calculation? Or does being one month short mean pay at the lower scale? Presumably you studied for the bar for more than a month so I guess that might count to round out the 1/2 year(s)....

You want a judge to set your pay at a level you aren't technically entitled to receive? Um, no.

The pay scale is determined by full years. Nothing gets rounded. It has to be 365 days to count. So if you start with, say, 20 months of work experience as a lawyer you'll be JSP-12 for the first 4 months of the clerkship then JSP-13 thereafter.

ETA: sorry, missed that you said "highest appropriate"

This seems like the wrong answer to me. Would seem weird to take a ~10k pay cut because of like 3 days experience

Emma. wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:From Oscar:

The Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) provides the salary coverage for law clerks. The federal judiciary uses the same locality rates as the executive branch. [...]

The hiring judge, as the appointing authority, assigns a selectee's grade and step, and thus sets the salary, at the time of appointment. A law clerk’s salary depends upon legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school, bar membership, and applicable locality pay adjustments:

JSP-11, step 1 – Law school graduates with academic excellence and no legal work experience. Annual base salary is $51,298 (plus applicable locality rate).
JSP-12, step 1 – One or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $61,486 (plus applicable locality rate).
JPS-13, step 1 – Two or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $73,115 (plus applicable locality rate).

(1) why would a judge not appoint you at the highest appropriate level? Do they face the decision, say, of hiring 3 clerks at a high met salary or 4 at a lower one? Do they have a limited budget? Or will the judiciary approve the funds for the highest possible salary if appropriately approved be the individual judge?

(2) If one clerks after one or two "years" at a firm (really 11 or 23 months if an Aug clerkship but Sept firm start) does that count as "one" or "two" years, respectively, for pay scale calculation? Or does being one month short mean pay at the lower scale? Presumably you studied for the bar for more than a month so I guess that might count to round out the 1/2 year(s)....

You want a judge to set your pay at a level you aren't technically entitled to receive? Um, no.

The pay scale is determined by full years. Nothing gets rounded. It has to be 365 days to count. So if you start with, say, 20 months of work experience as a lawyer you'll be JSP-12 for the first 4 months of the clerkship then JSP-13 thereafter.

ETA: sorry, missed that you said "highest appropriate"

This seems like the wrong answer to me. Would seem weird to take a ~10k pay cut because of like 3 days experience

Your salary isn't fixed for the year. You'd get paid at the lower level for 3 days then get the promotion.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Totally anecdotally, I have heard of at least one judge setting the salary at the start of the year and not doing raises. But I think that was during/in districts with hiring freezes and I don't think it's common. I was 10 days short of 1 years' experience when I started as a federal clerk and the judge had no problem signing off on the promotion after the 10 days.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:From Oscar:

The Judiciary Salary Plan (JSP) provides the salary coverage for law clerks. The federal judiciary uses the same locality rates as the executive branch. [...]

The hiring judge, as the appointing authority, assigns a selectee's grade and step, and thus sets the salary, at the time of appointment. A law clerk’s salary depends upon legal work experience subsequent to graduation from law school, bar membership, and applicable locality pay adjustments:

JSP-11, step 1 – Law school graduates with academic excellence and no legal work experience. Annual base salary is $51,298 (plus applicable locality rate).
JSP-12, step 1 – One or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $61,486 (plus applicable locality rate).
JPS-13, step 1 – Two or more years of post-graduate legal work experience and bar membership. Annual base salary is $73,115 (plus applicable locality rate).

(1) why would a judge not appoint you at the highest appropriate level? Do they face the decision, say, of hiring 3 clerks at a high met salary or 4 at a lower one? Do they have a limited budget? Or will the judiciary approve the funds for the highest possible salary if appropriately approved be the individual judge?

(2) If one clerks after one or two "years" at a firm (really 11 or 23 months if an Aug clerkship but Sept firm start) does that count as "one" or "two" years, respectively, for pay scale calculation? Or does being one month short mean pay at the lower scale? Presumably you studied for the bar for more than a month so I guess that might count to round out the 1/2 year(s)....

You want a judge to set your pay at a level you aren't technically entitled to receive? Um, no.

The pay scale is determined by full years. Nothing gets rounded. It has to be 365 days to count. So if you start with, say, 20 months of work experience as a lawyer you'll be JSP-12 for the first 4 months of the clerkship then JSP-13 thereafter.

ETA: sorry, missed that you said "highest appropriate"

This seems like the wrong answer to me. Would seem weird to take a ~10k pay cut because of like 3 days experience