law clerk

Definition of law clerk

Noun

law clerk (plural law clerks)

1. (law) a clerk who assists a judge with legal proceedings. Depending on the court, such positions may be professional careers or may be temporary positions for graduating law students.

Further reading

A law clerk or a [[judicial clerk[[ is a person who provides assistance to a [[judge[[ in researching issues before the [[court[[ and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court.

Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who performed at or near the top of their class. Various studies have shown clerks to be influential in the formation of case law through their influence on judges' decisions. Working as a law clerk generally opens up career opportunities.

While there has been relatively little inquiry comparing clerks across nations, some research has been done comparing clerkship practices in the U.S. with non-U.S. courts. Still, in some countries the position of law clerk does not exist. But in many nations clerk-duties are performed by permanent staff attorneys or junior apprentice-like judges, such as those that sit on France's Conseil d'État. In English Courts, they are known as Judicial Assistants. The permanent staff attorneys, or clerks-called Referendaires at the European Court of Justice provide one point of comparison to American clerks. Australian, Canadian, Swedish and Brazilian practices can also help illuminate the similarities and differences across nations.

England and Wales

In England and Wales, law clerks are called Judicial Assistants. It is possible to be a Judicial Assistant at the court of appeal and at the UK Supreme Court (formerly the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords). Only Supreme Court Judicial Assistants are appointed for a full-time, one year fixed term appointment. Since 2006 they have taken part in a week long exchange in Washington DC at the U.S. Supreme Court due to a friendship between Justice Antonin Scalia and Lord Rodger of Earlsferry.