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Job outlook for career law clerks in the United States
Are career law clerk jobs in demand?
Career law clerk job and salary trends over time
Career law clerk jobs over time
Career law clerk job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 14 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 16 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 15 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 14 | 0.00% |
Average career law clerk salary over time
Career law clerk salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $41,219 | $19.82 | +6.5% |
| 2024 | $38,710 | $18.61 | +0.9% |
| 2023 | $38,374 | $18.45 | +4.3% |
| 2022 | $36,790 | $17.69 | --0.8% |
| 2021 | $37,098 | $17.84 | +2.0% |
Career law clerk jobs by state
Most common states for career law clerks
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 477 | 16% |
| 2 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 133 | 15% |
| 3 | Alaska | 739,795 | 110 | 15% |
| 4 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 791 | 14% |
| 5 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 426 | 14% |
| 6 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 269 | 14% |
| 7 | Delaware | 961,939 | 132 | 14% |
| 8 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 100 | 14% |
| 9 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 993 | 13% |
| 10 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 856 | 13% |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 740 | 13% |
| 12 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 463 | 13% |
| 13 | Vermont | 623,657 | 80 | 13% |
| 14 | California | 39,536,653 | 4,681 | 12% |
| 15 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 810 | 12% |
| 16 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 774 | 12% |
| 17 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 740 | 12% |
| 18 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 661 | 12% |
| 19 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 197 | 11% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 65 | 11% |
Career Law Clerk job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of career law clerk experts
California University of Pennsylvania
Texas Tech University
Southern Illinois University
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Illinois State University
University of Maryland - Baltimore County
University of Connecticut
Stonehill College
New College of Florida
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Career Law Clerks?
Brian Kohlhepp: Largely, this would be acquiring a Master's degree. Many folks obtain this degree for an advancement at their current employer or in order to make themselves a more attractive candidate to the overall job field.
What's a good job out of college for Career Law Clerks?
Paula Smith: The first professional legal job out of law school covers every area of law and every geography. Every legal job provides opportunity for growth and experience in the profession. Students choose law firms, government agencies, and public interest jobs according to their interest and passion. Some graduates work in civil litigation, others work in criminal prosecution or criminal defense. Some choose a more client-centered practice area including family law, personal injury, or legal aid services.
What soft skills should all Career Law Clerks possess?
Jennifer Brobst: Two soft skills come to mind immediately: kindness and self-restraint. I have noticed that this generation of new attorneys is less accustomed to taking conflict in stride. What I mean is that in a social media world, one can overreact without facing the other person or simply walk away without responding to a text or post that seems confrontational or disrespectful. In person, there is usually no way to walk away without making the situation worse, so we get better and better at figuring out how to respond with kindness, humor, and patience. That is an excellent skill to have with clients who naturally feel stressed, or with overworked or overzealous opposing counsel or judges.
As to self-restraint, many ethics violations occur among attorneys who feel overwhelmed by their workload. Law school is the best place to learn how to figure out how to manage one's time, and to learn self-restraint -- i.e., when to stop and move on to the next task. This quality of self-restraint will not only help to make sure that new attorneys are reliable on behalf of their clients, but that they are happy with their job for the long-haul. There will always be more clients, but an attorney who knows their limits, but still gets the job done, will be glad to be an attorney throughout their career.
Jason Cieslik
Assistant Professor & Academic Advisor of Legal StudiesIllinois State University
Department of Politics & Government
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Career Law Clerks to find work opportunities?
Jason Cieslik: The old saying in the legal profession used to be that 80% of the available legal jobs are not posted. Attorneys communicated their need to hire a legal professional by word of mouth and in-person interaction at social legal functions. It's not certain that this old adage holds true today. Attorneys may be utilizing more traditional methods of posting job opportunities.
Jobs are available, but certain legal specialties may be thriving more than others. However, this cyclical trend tends to hold true regardless of whether the country is experiencing a pandemic or not. Rather than focusing on the specific location of where jobs are located around the country, it appears that legal professionals seeking employment should focus on areas of law that have work and need employees to complete that work. The great aspect of the legal profession is that attorneys and paralegals have always been more than willing to assist one another. Employment is no different. Legal professionals seeking work need to start making as many connections as possible with other legal professionals by phone, email, and other socially distant forms of communication to establish a network.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Career Law Clerks to find work opportunities?
Amy Froide Ph.D.: For History majors we are located in an ideal part of the country. History majors interested in working in government, or in public history sites like archives, museums, and historic homes benefit from opportunities in Maryland and in D.C. Our History students often get internship experiences because we are close to many of these sites and then get hired after graduation.
Joseph McAlhany Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of HistoryUniversity of Connecticut
Department of History
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Career Law Clerks?
Joseph McAlhany Ph.D.: The pandemic, with all the changes it brought to higher ed as well as daily life, will remain a watershed moment for many graduates, and I'm sure it has affected all of us in ways as that will only be recognized years from now. But I think there should be some optimism about the way many graduates have handled a difficult situation: they were required to adapt suddenly to a whole new way of doing things, and on the whole met those challenges successfully. Many graduates can now have confidence in their ability to overcome unforeseen obstacles in unusual circumstances, and that's a valuable lesson difficult to learn without experiencing it first-hand.
Dr. Karen Teoh
Associate Professor of History and Director of Asian StudiesStonehill College
Department of History
What Career Law Clerk skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Karen Teoh: I would encourage graduates to keep honing their skills in professional communication, global awareness, and emotional maturity/independence. One way to do this is to broaden your horizons as much as possible, using your own initiative. Whether you work, intern, study, travel, or some combination, aim to learn as much as you can about the people and environment in which you are immersed. The more you know about the world around you, whether it ranges as far as one zip code or one continent away, the more you will be able to see things from a variety of perspectives and get a sense of how interconnected our global society is today. Talk to different people; be curious about their work, interests, and viewpoints. Take advantage of your institution's alumni network to request informational interviews. Even as a graduate, you can usually still use your career counseling office's services to get feedback on writing cover letters or speaking well in interviews and presentations.
Frank Alcock Ph.D.
Director of Academic Initiatives and Special Projects, Professor of Political Science and Environmental StudiesNew College of Florida
Political Science Department
What general advice would you give to a Career Law Clerk?
Frank Alcock Ph.D.: You're just beginning on what will hopefully be a long and rewarding journey. Career paths are less stable and more turbulent than they were a decade ago, so understand this at the outset. You may find yourself moving into a well-defined career path that you enjoy and that's great. But professional versatility is becoming an increasingly important asset. Versatility will build over time as you cultivate more skills and experiences. Lifelong learning will continue to be indispensable so always look for opportunities to learn from your setbacks as well as your successes. And embrace your future. It won't be boring.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Career Law Clerk job market given the pandemic?
Frank Alcock Ph.D.: I think the pandemic will accelerate a range of trends in the job market. Some sectors will be affected more than others by structural shifts in market demand, supply and the modalities of producing and consuming goods and services. Remote work has exploded during the pandemic, by necessity, and it will fundamentally alter the dispositions and preferences of both employers and employees moving forward. This will have implications for workplace "hubs" and the industries that serve them. Demand for software engineers and related data science skills will continue to grow. As will technical savvy paired with social IQ and communications skills. And outcome-oriented, project-based work will probably displace more traditional, full-time, functional positions.