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Judicial internship vs legal extern

The differences between judicial interns and legal externs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a judicial internship has an average salary of $50,523, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.

The top three skills for a judicial internship include legal issues, court proceedings and legal memoranda. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.

Judicial internship vs legal extern overview

Judicial InternshipLegal Extern
Yearly salary$50,523$47,238
Hourly rate$24.29$22.71
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs47,59510,986
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4146
Years of experience-4

What does a judicial internship do?

In a judicial internship, a law school student can be assigned to a court to assist a judge or other law practitioner. One of the primary responsibilities will revolve around conducting thorough research on various legal issues, studying and revising orders, and preparing documentation such as a memorandum. Furthermore, an intern will have an opportunity to attend meetings and hearings, observe how legal actions are processed, and develop a perspective on how the entire judicial system functions.

What does a legal extern do?

Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.

Judicial internship vs legal extern salary

Judicial interns and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.

Judicial InternshipLegal Extern
Average salary$50,523$47,238
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $84,000Between $23,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Jones Day
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between judicial internship and legal extern education

There are a few differences between a judicial internship and a legal extern in terms of educational background:

Judicial InternshipLegal Extern
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Judicial internship vs legal extern demographics

Here are the differences between judicial interns' and legal externs' demographics:

Judicial InternshipLegal Extern
Average age4146
Gender ratioMale, 49.8% Female, 50.2%Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 8.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 10.3% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage13%10%

Differences between judicial internship and legal extern duties and responsibilities

Judicial internship example 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.
  • Conduct legal research using WestLaw and LexisNexis.
  • Observe all probate dockets including involuntary-commitments, estates, and adoptions.
  • Show more

Legal extern example responsibilities.

  • Create PowerPoint presentation used to train staff on managing copyright and trademark infringement risk.
  • Research various aspects of criminal law; write inter-office memos defining the present juris prudence of issue research.
  • Train attorneys and librarians to use the Lexis-Nexis legal research system.
  • Proofread and edit attorney work product (grammar, usage, and content . )
  • Hire by criminal defense and plaintiff's personal injury attorneys on a case basis.
  • Proofread and edit legal documents for correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, format, and content.
  • Show more

Judicial internship vs legal extern skills

Common judicial internship skills
  • Legal Issues, 12%
  • Court Proceedings, 10%
  • Legal Memoranda, 7%
  • Oral Arguments, 6%
  • Judicial Opinions, 4%
  • Social Security, 4%
Common legal extern skills
  • Litigation, 12%
  • Legal Intern, 10%
  • Legal Issues, 9%
  • Legal Memos, 6%
  • Intellectual Property, 5%
  • Pre-Trial Motions, 5%