Bankruptcy Court Judge Ernest M. Robles addresses students about clerkships
—By Elly Wong
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Ernest M. Robles spoke to students Oct. 29 about the value of judicial clerkships and the irreplaceable experience that comes along with them.
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| Judge Ernest M. Robles |
Robles, who recently was reappointed for his second 14-year term by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, said that even though it may delay settling into long-term employment for a year after law school, completing a clerkship provides unique and valuable skills.
“I wish had done it,” he said. “It’s not until I became a judge when I realized that this was the road: to become a clerk.”
By assisting judges in researching issues before the court, clerks gain an inside look at what it is like to be a judge, as well as the judicial process in general.
“Clerkships give you so much information as to what you do as a judge and at how you arrive at decisions,” he said.
Clerks get to practice judicial decision-making themselves, evaluating cases and presenting their opinions to the judges they work for.
“The ability to synthesize facts and laws, and then put the two together, is the type of analysis that I need,” he said. “Clerks, they are my eyes and ears.”
Clerks also gain insight into the skills of effective litigators, which will benefit them in their future practices, Robles said. They view briefs before the judge even gets to see them, which provides the chance to identify what makes a good brief versus a bad brief. During their time spent in the courtroom, clerks also get the opportunity to see first-class litigators in action.
Robles also mentioned another aspect of the clerkship—the unique relationships that can form.
“In public sector law and private firms, you may have mentor-mentee relationship,” he said. “But with a judge, it’s almost like becoming part of a family, because I will confide in that clerk … about my views of particular areas of the law.”
Robles went on to share helpful tips for getting an externship by sharing his own criteria for hiring clerks. Typically, a bankruptcy judge like Robles has two clerks at a time: a career clerk and a rotating one-year clerk.
The most imperative thing he looks for in his clerks is organizational skills.
“Because the most important thing I do as a judge is to issue an order, …the order has to be accurate, has to provide for what I asked for in court, and has to be processed,” he said.
With hundreds of cases also coming through the bankruptcy courts each week, the ability to coordinate multiple projects is essential for a judge’s aide.
In terms of recommendation letters, Robles said they are important only if they reflect that a professor has really come to know the student.
“Grades and GPA are important to me, but they are not the end-all be-all,” Robles said.
Instead, he looks for people who write well, write a lot and exhibit maturity.
Robles said that the analysis and work that clerks do is very helpful, especially when judges are hearing hundreds of cases. As a result, the experience becomes a win-win for both the judge and clerk.
“Clerkship experience can’t be replicated anywhere else,” Robles said. “It’s so important and so unique an opportunity for you to play the judge and help the judicial process, more than in any other experience.”
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