How To Become A Judicial Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a judicial internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Jennifer Brobst

A judicial internship is an opportunity to work with a judge for a particular period. You would perform duties like research, writing memoranda, summarizing cases, as well as attending trials and hearings. You might also be required to make preliminary determinations on applications for further appellate reviews.

A judicial internship is an amazing opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes in a judicial process. You get to live the life before actually living the life. Nonetheless, it is a demanding period, but it also proves to be an exciting one. Most judicial interns say it's the best time to develop your research and writing skills.

Your resume must include skills like drafting legal memos, writing persuasive legal documents, summarizing judgments, offering legal advice, and court proceedings. Most judicial interns have doctorate degrees in law from top schools. Others have degrees in fields like political science and criminal justice. Judicial interns earn an average of $54,010 annually.

What's a day at work look like for a judicial internship?

Jennifer Brobst

Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University

Recent graduates who are newly employed will be relieved to learn that there is always some leeway given to the new hire, at least for a little while. Even the harshest supervising attorneys will put together some form of onboarding. If they don't, and a recent graduate working as a deputy prosecuting attorney, for example, is sent to court without instruction, then it will show if they appear lost as to what to do. It's a little humiliating, but the best of attorneys have been through it. Recent graduates need to be willing to be professional and ask court clerks, opposing counsel, judges, and others in the profession basic questions when necessary.

On the other hand, new attorneys in large firms may find the onboarding process frustrating if it is very extensive, as they may want to jump in the deep end and have more responsibility more quickly. If the pandemic continues to impact whether attorneys must work from home, it may be a little lonely at first, working remotely at a new job. However, this will be temporary, and all new attorneys hopefully will remember to appreciate that they have successfully finished law school and passed the bar, a major accomplishment, in itself. During the pandemic, attorneys have been considered essential workers and there is a reason for that. They genuinely are of service to their communities, especially in times of crisis.

ScoreJudicial InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,523

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 10.27%

Black or African American 9.38%

Hispanic or Latino 17.78%

Unknown 8.28%

White 53.95%

Gender

female 50.19%

male 49.81%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a judicial internship

Explore judicial internship education requirements

Most common judicial internship degrees

Bachelor's

70.9 %

Doctorate

21.8 %

Master's

5.5 %

Start to develop specific judicial internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Legal Issues	11.59%
Court Proceedings	9.90%
Legal Memoranda	6.57%
Oral Arguments	5.85%
Judicial Opinions	4.01%

Complete relevant judicial internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New judicial interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a judicial internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real judicial internship resumes.

Gain additional judicial internship certifications

Judicial internship certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific judicial internship certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for judicial interns include Certified International Trade Law Specialist (CITLS) and Certified Legal Secretary Specialist: Intellectual Property (CL§).

More About Certifications

Research judicial internship duties and responsibilities

Gain extensive knowledge of civil, domestic, and probate court proceedings, as well as proper court etiquette.
Research, analyze and write dispositions or motions and judicial opinions on matters relate to corporate litigation and commercial/residential mortgage foreclosures.
Experience in preparing legal documents such as subpoenas and arraignment notices.
Assist the public in filings of various small claim suits, subpoenas and affidavits.

Prepare your judicial internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your judicial internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a judicial internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable judicial internship resume templates

Build a professional judicial internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your judicial internship resume.