When choosing a federal criminal defense attorney for your case, what exactly should you look for regarding their background? That such an attorney is a qualified lawyer enough? Or does specific experiences matter? When your life and liberty are on the line, you want the best-equipped attorney to handle your case. Federal prosecutors generally have worked in the chambers of a federal judge—or two—as law clerks and are well recognized by most judges. When you are up against such prosecutors, you too want someone with at least comparable experience to defend your case. At Mishra X Trial Lawyers, our federal criminal defense attorney has prior experience as a former federal law clerk. This makes a world of difference, as we explain below.
At our law firm, we know that experience matters when it comes to choosing an attorney for your defense. If you need litigators with skills and expertise you can rely on, our team is here for you. Our federal criminal defense attorneys have worked alongside not one, but two federal judges in federal clerkships. To schedule a consultation with our experienced lawyers, please call our office at (949) 343-9734 today, or visit our website.
What Exactly Are Former Federal Judicial Law Clerks?
First, we need to understand exactly what federal judicial clerks are and what they do. A federal judicial clerk is generally an attorney who gives advice and counsel directly to a judge while making decisions and writing opinions for cases. They conduct legal research on behalf of the judges, and oftentimes play a critical role in how a case will turn out. It’s also important to distinguish between legal clerks and federal clerkships. Legal clerks, or court clerks, are generally not qualified attorneys and they provide administrative support for both judges and attorneys.
Judicial clerks, however, are generally qualified attorneys (or recent graduates of law schools) and bring a whole lot more to the table. In many cases, federal judiciary law clerks do exceptionally well in law school, graduating at the very top of their class. Many legal circles consider law clerk jobs to be highly prestigious, especially judicial clerkships under federal trial and appellate judges. In other words, it’s a good sign when your attorney has clerked for a federal judge.
The most prestigious clerkship positions are with certain courts, such as the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts.
What Are Necessary Qualifications Of A Federal Judicial Law Clerk?
The majority of legal clerks are recent graduates of law school who finished at or near the top of their class. Federal judges, particularly those on the appellate level, sometimes require law clerk applicants to have participated in law review or moot court while in law school. As a result, the process of applying for law clerks is extremely competitive, with most federal judges getting hundreds of applications each year for only one or two unfilled positions.
A judicial clerkship position at the U.S. Courts is generally more hotly contested than a judicial clerkship at the state level. However, there are very few opportunities for federal law clerk jobs. Thus, you’ll always have many more recent law school graduates with great qualifications than there are judicial clerk positions available. This makes the competition even fiercer for the position of one or two law clerks per court.
Many law clerks are selected in part for their academic talent and in part for their ideology. These law clerks still have a great deal of influence on the judges they clerk for. When law school graduates complete a judicial clerk position, they either move on to very prestigious law firms or remain in the position indefinitely.
Indeed, former federal law clerks are frequently in great demand by big legal firms. Firms think such people have great legal research and writing abilities, as well as a thorough understanding of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
If the company often appears before the clerk's previous judge, firms are much more interested in a former law clerk. The fact that most big companies have a specific hiring process for former legal clerks and typically give substantial signing bonuses to such persons demonstrates the interest in former law clerks.
Federal Clerkship Duties and Responsibilities
The tasks and responsibilities of a federal judicial law clerk are set by the judge who employs them. Law clerks in most federal courts focus on case research and opinion writing. According to the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review (OSCAR), a legal clerk's broad range of responsibilities often includes the following tasks.
- Conducting legal research
- Write bench memoranda, advising the judge on how to rule
- Drafting court orders and court opinions
- Proofreading the opinions and orders of individual judges
- Verifying case and fact citations
- Communicating with counsel and court personnel about procedural requirements and case management
- Assisting the judge in courtroom proceedings
The OSCAR allows many judges to describe the nature of the work they expect law clerks to perform when they advertise the open position. This is beneficial, as law clerks often perform a wide array of administrative duties along with their trial briefs and other duties.
Additionally, these positions require that the law clerk work cooperatively and professionally with other judicial clerks, the chief justice, associate justices, other prominent judges, and the rest of the staff in their particular court. Law clerks are bound by certain ethical standards outlined by both the judge and in the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees.
Why Do They Make the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys?
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get back to the main question: why do former law clerks make great federal criminal defense attorneys? Clerking allows graduates from law school to not only expand their skill set immensely, but also to really get a feel for the federal legal system and court procedures. Law clerks in federal courts learn how judges render decisions and learn how those decisions affect others. In essence, you get to peek behind the curtain of federal courts. Working alongside federal judges illuminates the legal profession and all legal proceedings in a way that you simply can’t experience going straight into a law firm. The learning experience that judicial clerks gain is something that law students and those with a law degree in a law firm often don’t gain access to. Law clerks often come into contact with a wide array of attorneys and judges which exposes them to a plethora of legal knowledge and strategies.
It’s also important to remember that federal prosecutors often have the benefit of that same level of training under their belt. Therefore, it makes more sense as a defendant to choose a federal defense attorney with this same level of training, rather than a public defender who may lack this training. When it’s your liberty at stake, you want your defense attorney to be at least (if not more) well-trained than the prosecutor.
Contact Mishra X Trial Lawyers Today
At Mishra X Trial Lawyers, our federal criminal defense lawyers in California are both talented and dedicated. After holding two federal law clerk positions, they have the skills you need on your side when defending your rights and your freedoms. For more information about how we can help in your case, give us a call at (949) 343-9734 or visit our website to learn more. We offer free consultations, as well as other legal services for our clients.