Overview

A summer judicial internship is an opportunity to work for a federal or state judge during your 1L or 2L summer. Interns work on their research, writing and analytical skills, and work closely with experienced judges and law clerks. The internship also exposes you to local practice and procedure and litigation in a variety of fields of law, which can help in the decision of which area of the law interests you most.

Judges hire on varying schedules. Federal judges usually accept summer internship applications in late December/early January. State judges hire as late as April and May, although earlier applications are encouraged.

Unless otherwise noted, you should send a cover letter, resume, transcript (if/when available) and a list of references when applying for a summer judicial internship.

Federal Judges

To create a list of the names and addresses of federal judges, you can use the database of judges located under the Clerkship tab on your Symplicity account. You can search for specific judges, select favorites and export those names and addresses to an Excel spreadsheet that can be used to complete a mail merge. You can also refer to our Clerkship Resource Page for a list of online and other guides that provide information on federal and state judicial officers. A list of federal judges is also available through OSCAR, the online system for clerkship application and review.

PA/NJ/DE Judges

The Career Strategies Office maintains contact information for the PA/NJ/DE state courts in Symplicity under the Clerkship tab. This information is updated every fall. You can export the contact information of these judges from Symplicity as an Excel spreadsheet that can be mail merged for a cover letter.

Other State Judges

For all other state judges, you must research to find the addresses of the individual judges to whom you are interested in applying. You can obtain this information either through individual state court websites or other resources. Refer to our Clerkship Resource Page for a list of online and other guides that provide information on federal and state judicial officers.