Law Clerk Jobs Explained
Law clerks in Los Angeles law firms and government agencies offer support to a variety of legal professionals throughout a typical day. Among the primary responsibilities and duties of law clerks, those that provide direct support to attorneys and other legal professionals may include:
Legal research and writing
Pre-trial file management
Assisting in the drafting of motions
Attending hearings, depositions, client meetings and trials
Collecting and organizing evidence
Preparing exhibit lists
Conducting interviews
Attending to clerical matters
Filing pleadings
Drafting correspondence
Tracking important court calendars and deadlines
In caseloads where the average law clerk per firm/project is 1-10, their legal duties are often supplemented by clerical, administrative and/or general legal support . As the caseload increases, there sometimes becomes a greater need for general support to free up attorneys and paralegals to focus on more specific or advanced legal work. In addition to primary legal support roles, law clerks in LA may also perform related tasks such as operating and updating databases, and performing other basic business functions.
Education and Skills Required
While each employer will need different levels of education and work experience depending upon the specific duties of the law clerk as referenced above, one can generally conclude that they will need to have completed three years of studies at a law university. Prior experience at another law firm, especially for a large one that is in line with the one you are applying to, will also be a plus. With most common business such as in a retail store, you can make your way up the ladder as you gain experience regardless of your background, but a law firm is different and they need the right staff at the top and then grow from there in a more general fashion. You will likely spend the first one or two years on the job being taught about how the system works, with very little responsibility and supervision that you have to get used to. A good law clerk will have to possess certain traits. For example, you will need to be sharp and wise, have common sense for the legal field and its processes and be detail-oriented when it comes to looking over documents, papers and other essential items. You will need to be a fast learner, as well as a great communicator, even if some of the communication is in writing. If you do not have at least basic communication skills, you simply cannot work in a law office!
How to Find Specific Law Clerk Positions
A plethora of resources are available to assist in the search for law clerk jobs. Traditionally, newspapers and bar association publications have offered law firms seeking to hire law clerks a means to reach a targeted audience. Indeed, many law firms still rely on advertisements in the Los Angeles County Bar Association publication, The Bulletin, as well as in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for hiring law clerks.
These methods, however, do not reach law students who are not local to Los Angeles, nor do they offer much exposure to law graduates seeking positions in the early spring. Online job boards such as the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and the Law School Employment (LSE) also post job listings for law clerk positions in Los Angeles.
The Career Services Offices at the majority of area law schools post jobs for law clerk positions as well. Because the firms tend to focus on law students who will be law clerks, graduates seeking nearly immediate work may find it useful to visit relevant law schools’ Career Services Offices, and to contact them directly.
Finally, legal staffing agencies such as Robert Half, Major, Lindsey & Africa, and Legal Aid & Services recommend that job seekers network with other attorneys and legal professionals by attending events, subscribing to a few industry publications, and establishing a LinkedIn profile.
The Leading Employers of Law Clerks in LA
For those interested in court clerk positions, or private law firms, public interest organizations and corporate legal departments in Los Angeles, it is important to know where the most and best law clerk jobs are – that is, which employers hire law clerks. Remember, clerking is an excellent way to obtain much sought after experience and further your legal career.
Large law firms such as O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, and Paul Hastings LLP, all have offices in Los Angeles, California. O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s Los Angeles office was opened in 1885 and is the firm’s headquarters. The firm serves Fortune 500 corporations and many prominent individuals in Los Angeles. O’Melveny & Myers LLP primarily hires law clerks who have demonstrated their commitment to transportation law, class action law, criminal law, and intellectual property law.
Sidley Austin LLP’s Los Angeles office has a wide variety of clients that include many Fortune 500 countries, mid-market companies, and high-growth companies. The law firm’s practice areas in Los Angeles are business transaction and litigation; environmental law; real estate; project development and energy; intellectual property; data privacy, cybersecurity, and class action litigation; and entertainment and media. That law firm offers job opportunities for law clerks and summer associates.
Paul Hastings LLP, a U.S.-based law firm with 25 global offices, has a Los Angeles practice area that serves its debt financing, litigation, and consumer financial services practices. As such, the law firm offers legal clerk jobs in its transactional, litigation, employment, government investigations and white-collar defense, financial restructuring and bankruptcy, and real estate practices.
The Court of Appeal in Los Angeles, the Second District, has law clerk job openings. Judi Mandery, Supervising Personnel Analyst at the Second District, provides helpful information on the hiring process for research attorneys and clerks. Specifically, the law firm clerk positions are called "attorney examiners," and the court hires about one law clerk per month. As of July 2019, the court had 15 law clerks and one senior law clerk.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also hires law clerks and research attorneys. The law firm hires law clerk interns in its various litigating practices, including juvenile, environmental and transportation crimes, workers’ compensation, and bench officer law clerks. Current law clerks at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office report that they have great experiences and that they have received too few interesting research projects.
The United States Attorney for the Central District of California, which is located in Los Angeles, California, offers law clerk jobs. The law firm is the second largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country, and it provides job opportunities for law clerks in civil, criminal, and appellate practices. The United States Attorney’s Office provides internships for law students in their spring, summer, and fall programs.
Public interest groups in Los Angeles, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Immigrants’ Rights Project, Disability Rights Advocates, Public Counsel, Human Rights Watch, and Equal Justice Society also have law clerk opportunities.
What Salary Range to Expect and Benefits
In Los Angeles, the average minimum salary for a law clerk position is $35,000 to $75,000. The range in compensation is based on a number of factors, such as the size of the firm and the level of experience of the law clerk. Law firms tend to offer competitive salaries that strongly depend on the individual’s education and experience. Experienced clerks may make upwards of $80,000 annually. Of course , those law clerks with superior credentials and a track record of success will expect (and be offered) a higher compensation package.
The primary benefits that Los Angeles law clerks can expect include paid time off, pro bono opportunities and competitive pay. Law clerks and associates are anticipated to work long hours, often averaging 60 to 80 hours per week. With the high costs of living in Los Angeles, salary compensation is an important consideration when looking for law clerk jobs.
Opportunities for Career Advancement
Law Clerk jobs in Los Angeles present genuine career advancement opportunities. There is no substitute for working side by side with experienced attorneys on real life cases. Every day brings new challenges and new chances to learn and grow. The law firm hiring landscape is competitive and ever changing. Firms in Los Angeles are seeking highly qualified law students and recent graduate in the midst of a down economy. The overall demand is likely temporary, related to a drop off in applicants from within the struggling California law schools. The trend is something we advise our law student readers to pay attention to. Law Clerk employment in Los Angeles means you will have the chance to gain substantial hands-on experience working with clients. Even if you spend the majority of your time conducting research or drafting memos, that work product will give you a jump on your career. No where in the legal field do employees get more direct feedback about their performance. These Law Clerk jobs turning into permanent attorney employment is something we see quite frequently in Los Angeles. Junior associates at small Los Angeles firms are often the result of successful law clerk employment.
Getting Started with Networking and Professional Growth
Networking and continuous professional development is equally important for law clerks. Networking is an important part of litigation in general. It can serve multiple purposes: building connections for potential referrals, connecting with opposing counsel, and staying informed on trends in the field. Other lawyers can also be valuable mentors who can provide support and guidance throughout your career.
There are many opportunities in Los Angeles to meet and connect with other lawyers. Among them are: the LA County Bar Association’s Litigation Section Events and the hours of free live lectures offered by Lexis Nexis in the Los Angeles area. You may also want to consider joining one of the professional , association or alumni groups. Some of the most notable are the California Women Lawyers, the UCLA Law Alumni Association, and the Alumni Association of Loyola Law School.
You should also subscribe to the email newsletters of other lawyers and follow these lawyers and the firms they work for on LinkedIn. Doing so will allow you to keep the pulse of the industry without spending an inordinate amount of time networking.
