The Ad Hoc Committee on Law Clerk Hiring has elected to extend the pilot of its Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan for two additional years. As with the original two-year pilot, the extended Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan encourages, but not requires, participating judges to limit clerkship hiring to students who have completed their second year of law school. For more information on the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan, visit https://oscar.uscourts.gov/federal_law_clerk_hiring_pilot.
For students who entered law school in 2019 (graduating class of 2022):
Judges will not seek or accept formal or informal clerkship applications, or seek or accept formal or informal recommendations, before 12:00 pm EDT on June 14, 2021. Judges also will not directly or indirectly contact applicants, or schedule or conduct formal or informal interviews, or make formal or informal offers, before 12:00 pm EDT on June 15, 2021.
For students who entered law school in 2020 (graduating class of 2023):
Judges will not seek or accept formal or informal clerkship applications, or seek or accept formal or informal recommendations, before 12:00 pm EDT on June 13, 2022. Judges also will not directly or indirectly contact applicants, or schedule or conduct formal or informal interviews, or make formal or informal offers, before 12:00 pm EDT on June 14, 2022.
A judge who makes a clerkship offer will keep it open for at least 48 hours, during which time the applicant will be free to interview with other judges.
This is a two-year extension of the original pilot plan. Participating judges will reconsider their participation after June 2022. After June 2021, participating judges will reconsider the length of time a clerkship offer must remain open.
OSCAR Access Dates
Please note, OSCAR releases electronic applications in accordance with the dates set by the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan. Dates when the graduating classes of 2022 and 2023 can access OSCAR are being determined and will be announced in December.