Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice visits USC Law
A distinguished visitor gave USC Law students seeking a rewarding legal experience several compelling reasons to consider working as a law clerk.
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer discussed the benefits of clerkships and the qualities judges seek in clerks, based on his two-plus decades of service at the state Supreme Court level, in an April 13 visit to USC Law.
“It’s a high privilege to be a judge in an appellate level court,” Moyer said. “So if you’re a clerk working side by side with the judge, it’s a very, very rich experience, particularly for someone just out of law school.”
The most important role of a law clerk is to give the judge the first draft of an opinion. A clerkship, therefore, gives a young lawyer the chance to play an important role in developing the jurisprudence of the jurisdiction in which he or she is serving.
Moyer described the attributes judges seek in a clerk. While some judges look for clerks with prior legal experience, many do not. Important factors considered by most judges evaluating clerkship applicants include: class standing, faculty references, strong writing skills, an aptitude for research and analysis, and creativity.
Just as important, though, is the “fit” between the judge and the clerk, Moyer said. Some judges do not want to provide on-the-job training, but most strive to help their clerks grow.
“You’re fortunate, I think, if you work for a judge who is a teacher,” Moyer said. “A teacher will hone and improve your writing skills and your analytical skills.”
Other variables affecting the “fit” between judges and clerks include how long a judge typically retains clerks, whether a judge wants clerks who think similarly or differently from him or her, and how the potential clerk’s interests or areas of expertise might align with the judge’s.
Moyer went on to explain the advantages to working in a state court. First and foremost, state courts handle more than 90 percent of all the cases filed in any jurisdiction, which means the dockets are always full of fresh and diverse legal issues. On any given day, a court can see cases ranging in topic from genetic testing to gun ordinances to school funding.
Moyer said a state court clerkship will also expose a lawyer to “friends and family law,” the types of questions that attorneys will always be asked by friends and family members.
Additionally, since such a high percentage of courts are state courts, lawyers clerking in these courts get a great sense of the settings they might one day be arguing before.
A clerkship in any court can certainly provide the prestige to make a young attorney’s résumé stand out. More importantly, though, law clerks gain practical experience they can use for the rest of their lives.
“You know what judges look for when they’re reading those pages and pages and pages of briefs, and what they look for when they’re deciding a case,” Moyer said. “Very early in your career, you see what works.”
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