A judicial clerkship, one or two years working directly for a judge after law school, is one of the most prized first jobs for American law graduates. Clerks research legal questions, draft bench memos and help prepare opinions, and many go on to top law firms, government offices and academic careers. This guide explains how clerkships work, which law schools place the most graduates, and what international students and LL.M. graduates need to know about eligibility.
What a judicial clerk does
Law clerks work in a judge’s chambers on the cases before the court. Typical tasks include reading the parties’ briefs, researching the law, writing bench memos that summarize the issues before a hearing, and drafting orders and opinions under the judge’s direction. Clerkships exist at every level of the court system:
- U.S. Supreme Court: each justice hires a small number of clerks each term, almost always people who have already clerked for at least one lower-court judge.
- Federal courts of appeals and district courts: the largest group of federal clerkships. Federal judges post openings and receive applications through OSCAR, the federal judiciary’s online clerkship system (OSCAR).
- State courts: state supreme courts, appellate courts and trial courts also hire clerks, with their own application processes and requirements.
Which law schools place the most clerks
Placement is concentrated at a small group of schools. The University of Virginia School of Law, for example, reported in October 2025 that it remains No. 5 nationally in graduates clerking at the U.S. Supreme Court, behind Harvard, Yale, Stanford and the University of Chicago. Two UVA alumni clerk at the Court in the 2025 term: Elizabeth Fritz (Class of 2022) for Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Josh Hanley (Class of 2021) for Justice Samuel Alito. Using ABA data, UVA also ranks No. 4 for the share of 2020–2024 graduates who went directly into federal clerkships, behind Chicago, Yale and Stanford (UVA Today, October 27, 2025).
UVA’s numbers show how large clerkship pipelines can be at a top school: 96 alumni were clerking in the 2025 term (2 at the Supreme Court, 33 at federal courts of appeals, 51 at U.S. district and other federal courts, and 10 at state appellate and local courts). Of the 307 J.D. graduates in UVA’s Class of 2025, 41 began clerkships in the 2025 term, and 58 had accepted a total of 73 clerkships including future terms.
In Forward Pathway’s ranking database (2026 U.S. News law school ranking), the schools named above are all at the top: Stanford No. 1, Yale and Chicago tied at No. 2, University of Virginia No. 4 and Harvard No. 6.
Trends in clerkship hiring
- More experienced candidates. UVA’s assistant dean for judicial clerkships, Ruth Payne, notes that judges are placing increasing value on experienced candidates. Many clerks now apply after a year or more of practice or after a first clerkship, rather than straight out of law school (UVA Today).
- Multiple clerkships. Clerking for a district or appellate judge before a second clerkship is common, and Supreme Court clerks almost always have prior clerkship experience.
- What judges look for. Strong grades, excellent legal research and writing (journal membership, writing samples), faculty recommendations and, increasingly, practical experience.
Can international students clerk?
This is the key question for international J.D. and LL.M. students, and for most federal clerkships the answer is no. Federal appropriations law limits paid employment in the federal judiciary within the continental United States to (OSCAR: Citizenship Requirements for Employment in the Judiciary):
- U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals;
- refugees and asylees who have declared their intention to become permanent residents and then citizens; and
- lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who are seeking citizenship: they must apply for citizenship within six months of becoming eligible, or sign an affidavit of intent to apply if they are not yet eligible.
Students in F-1 or J-1 status, including those on OPT, do not fall into these categories, so they generally cannot be hired for paid federal clerkships in the continental U.S. The requirements do not apply to duty stations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, or to unpaid volunteers, and every hire must still complete Form I-9 to show work authorization.
Other options for international law students include:
- State court clerkships: state courts set their own rules, and some may be open to graduates with valid work authorization such as OPT. Check each court’s posting.
- Judicial externships during law school: many J.D. programs place students with judges for academic credit; see our guide to law school externships. Work-authorization rules for credit-bearing placements are different from those for paid jobs, so confirm with your school’s international office.
- Other first jobs: large law firms, which hire through on-campus and early interview programs, can sponsor work visas; your law school’s career office can explain the timeline (see how law school career offices work).
How to prepare if you are eligible
- Focus on first-year grades and legal writing; both weigh heavily in clerkship hiring.
- Join a law journal and build a polished writing sample.
- Get to know professors early; strong faculty recommendations are essential.
- Meet with your school’s clerkship office in your first year to understand application timing, which varies by judge, and to learn how to use OSCAR.
- Consider applying after one or two years of practice, since judges increasingly value experience.