Judicial Law Clerks

Government and Public AdministrationO*NET 23-1012.00United States

Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$64,926

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
+4.7%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
Doctoral degree or more

72.1% of the workforce

Employment
14.32K jobs

Growing to 15K by 2035

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Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

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The work

What judicial law clerks do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
  • Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
  • Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
  • Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
  • Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
  • Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
  • Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
  • Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress.
  • Communicate with counsel regarding case management or procedural requirements.
  • Respond to questions from judicial officers or court staff on general legal issues.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$46,151
25th percentile
$52,862
50th percentile
$64,926
75th percentile
$80,468
90th percentile
$113,306

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $64,926 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+4.7%average or slower
202514,320 jobs
2035 projected14,999 jobs

679 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Doctoral degree or more
72.1%
Master's or Professional degree
18.6%
High school diploma or less
7.2%
Certificate
2.2%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

  • Legal Research
  • Lawsuits
  • Legal Hearings
  • Legal Pleadings
  • Legal Discovery
  • Family Law
  • Legal Depositions
  • Mediation
  • Case Management
  • Westlaw
  • Labor Law
  • Legal Writing
  • Appeals
  • Case Law
  • Project Management
  • Trial Preparation
  • Civil Law
  • Data Entry
  • Administrative Support
  • Billing

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

  1. 01Law Clerks1,557 postings
  2. 02Summer Associates757 postings
  3. 03Family Law Associate Attorneys742 postings
  4. 04Judicial Clerks361 postings
  5. 05Family Law Associates241 postings
  6. 06Law Associates142 postings
  7. 07Corporate Associates139 postings
  8. 08Law Firm Consultants132 postings
  9. 09Legal Interns126 postings
  10. 10Litigation Associates109 postings
  11. 11Associate Attorneys/Law Clerks88 postings
  12. 12Term Law Clerks83 postings
  13. 13Associates75 postings
  14. 14Principal Consultants71 postings
  15. 15Judicial Law Clerks63 postings
  16. 16Cybersecurity Associates61 postings
  17. 17Employment Law Associates61 postings
  18. 18Employment Law Attorneys61 postings
  19. 19Legal Intake Specialists61 postings
  20. 20Litigators61 postings

Top employers

  1. 01GPAC233 postings
  2. 02Jackson Lewis P.C.140 postings
  3. 03Jobot140 postings
  4. 04Colorado Judicial Branch116 postings
  5. 05McCormack Schreiber Legal Search115 postings
  6. 06Lee Hecht Harrison105 postings
  7. 07Relx100 postings
  8. 08Foley & Lardner Llp85 postings
  9. 09Contact Government Services81 postings
  10. 10Robert Half74 postings
  11. 11State Of Iowa68 postings
  12. 12Earthjustice64 postings
  13. 13DLA Piper62 postings
  14. 14Alto Litigation, Pc60 postings
  15. 15Commonwealth of Kentucky60 postings
  16. 16Grayrobinson, P.A.59 postings
  17. 17Mcclure Harrison58 postings
  18. 18Capital One53 postings
  19. 19Clarivate Analytics44 postings
  20. 20State of Mississippi40 postings

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