Last week we asked, “What’s going on with clerkship salaries and benefits?” Now we have some answers.
Yesterday the Judicial Conference issued a press release that discussed law clerk salaries, among many other subjects. Here are the money (haha) quotes:
The Conference today also voted to continue implementing its cost-containment program by adopting a series of recommendations relating to law clerks and the Judiciary’s Court Personnel System in general….
[T]he Conference agreed that each judge will be limited to one career law clerk. Those 291 career law clerks now in chambers where more than one career law clerk is employed will be able to retain their career status in those chambers, with the assent of their judge, or with another judge if their judge dies, retires, resigns or is otherwise unable to retain a law clerk. Most federal law clerks are “term” clerks and typically serve one or two years. “Career” law clerks are expected to serve four or more years. This new policy limits a term law clerk’s term of employment to no more than four years, to be applied prospectively for current term law clerks. Another step replaces law clerk salary matching with a system aimed at achieving salary parity between those law clerks who gain their work experience within the Judiciary and those who gain their experience outside the Judiciary.
For those of you who might be interested in this subject — e.g., people interviewing for clerkships this week — additional commentary appears after the jump.
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One tipster tells us:
I’m not sure what the details are, but I do think it is good that they will base compensation on work experience, as opposed to dramatically benefiting law firm hacks like me over my public interest or clerk-y colleagues. Although I’m guessing compensation will go down, cost-cutting and all that….
As for the details, apparently there’s a memo floating around, authored by Judge Royal Furgeson (W.D. Tex.). If someone might be able to send it our way, that would be great. Thanks.
Transcripts of Federal Court Proceedings Nationwide To Be Available Online [U.S. Courts]
Earlier: Law Clerk Salaries and Benefits: What’s Going On?