Law & Government
Judicial Law Clerks
Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.
Median salary (BLS)
$64,920
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$46k – $113k
Job outlook
+3% (about average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $105,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Judicial Law Clerks
Education
Typical entry: Master's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Judicial Law Clerks Intern
Internship
$36,000
~4 mos to advance
Junior Judicial Law Clerks
Entry / Junior
$46,180
~2 yrs to advance
Judicial Law Clerks
Established
$64,920
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Judicial Law Clerks
Senior
$89,030
Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Law & Government
Explore all- Yale University5% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- Stanford University4% admit · $122,000 grad pay
- Columbia University4% admit · $103,000 grad pay
- University of Chicago5% admit · $91,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.