Thinking about a clerkship? I recommend it. You get to see good legal research and writing, sometimes BAD legal research and writing, and practice those skills themselves. Clerks learn what judges look for when ruling on a case or motion, discover what is persuasive and what isn’t, and see how law gets made.
Before applying for a clerkship, research the judge. The Law Library has tools that can take you beyond the basic biographies found on judicial websites.
- Judicial Biographical Databases. The Law Library has two biographical databases for judges with in-depth information on judges: one for federal judges (Almanac of the Federal Judiciary) and another for state judges American Bench.
- Almanac of the Federal Judiciary (federal judges): Type the name of the judge in the search bar or browse by clicking on the circuit or court. The Almanac includes district, appellate courts, and bankruptcy courts, and also specialized courts like the Tax Court. Profiles are quite extensive and include awards, publications, and reviews by attorneys who have appeared before the judge. Current and past financial disclosures are available and listed by year. Click here to access Almanac of the Federal Judiciary.
- American Bench (state judges): Enter the first and last name of the judge and their state and click search. Profiles are basic, but you can see the judges prior positions and affiliations. You can also download a list of all judges who attended a specific university (including all undergraduate and graduate degrees, not just law school graduates). The resulting spreadsheet will list the degrees obtained next to the judge, sometimes including the major area of study (but not always). Click here to access American Bench.
- Litigation Analytics. Lexis+ and Westlaw both have litigation tools that let you look at the case load, time to trial, and other stats for judges. They’re both easy to use; just type in the name of the judge. Access information for both is listed below. Lex Machina, which is owned by the same company that owns Lexis+, is a superior analytics tool that the Law Library subscribes to, providing more analytics information and direct access to dockets. See below for information on how to set up an account.
- Lexis+ Analytics: Locate the vertical, purple menu bar on the left side of the homepage. Locate “Litigation Analytics” in the middle of the bar and click it. Click “Compare Courts & Judges.” Enter the names of up to four judges and click “Compare.”
- Westlaw Analytics: Click “Content Type” on the home page, then “Litigation Analytics” under “Specialty Areas.” Select the Judges and type in the name of the judge.
- Lex Machina: BYU Law students can create an account by registering with their Law School email account. Click this link to register. Once you’re logged in, click on “Courts & Judges” in the top menu bar. “Search for Judges” is on the right.
- Opinions. Familiarize yourself with the judge’s writing and legal reasoning by reading their opinions. Here’s how to locate judge-specific opinions on Westlaw and Lexis+:
- Lexis+: Navigate to the court by jurisdiction, e.g. “UT Supreme Court Cases from 1861.” Use the “Opinion by” or “Written by” box to search for opinions authored by the judge. “Opinion by” locates majority opinions written by the judge. “Written by” will locate an opinion in which any part was written by the judge, including dissents and concurrences.
- Westlaw: Locate the court by jurisdiction. Click “Advanced” to the right of the search box (under “Parallel Search). Scroll down to the bottom to locate the “Written By” box to locate any opinion or part of the opinion (including a concurrence or a dissent) written by the judge. Westlaw has separate fields for concurrences and dissents if you want to search just for those.