College students whose personal hero is a Supreme Court justice or who enjoy watching courtroom dramas on television may dream of wielding a gavel themselves. Those contemplating law school, however, should know that becoming a judge is difficult, and the role is far from an entry-level legal position. First, experts say, would-be jurists need to prove themselves as a lawyer.
“They should find an area of law that they are really are interested in, so they can create a career that they are happy in and can succeed in,” says Jay Wexler, a professor at Boston University School of Law and former judicial clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “The best way to become a judge is to become a great attorney.”
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Experts say that because federal judge positions are extraordinarily competitive, the chance of obtaining such a position is remote, and that becoming a state judge or a local judge is a more realistic goal.
If your dream is to become a judge, here are three tips on what to look for in a law school.
1. Identify schools that connect students with judicial clerkships: Working with a judge is one of the best ways to determine whether a judicial career would be personally rewarding, says Chad Schmucker, president of the National Judicial College, a school that teaches practicing judges about professional best practices.
“Most people’s idea of being a judge comes from movies and TV shows,” says Schmucker, a former state court administrator for the Michigan Supreme Court and former circuit judge in Jackson County, Michigan. “Being a judge can be an isolating experience and it’s not for everyone. Some people don’t like the weight of the decisions.”
He adds that judicial clerk positions are some of the best opportunities for recent law graduates to demonstrate promise.
“The judicial clerk experience has always been a good steppingstone to an excellent job as an attorney,” Schmucker says. “That builds your resume, and that makes you a more compelling candidate. If you’re going to be a judge, that’s a logical step.”
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2. Focus on writing: Judges typically relay their decisions in writing, and the best judges often write eloquent opinions, so writing skills are a core competency for aspiring judges, experts say.
Some schools offer exceptional legal writing programs and writing-intense seminars, which can help pave the way to a judicial clerkship by providing professors with justification to say that students are exceptional writers, says Wexler of Boston University.
“The kinds of letters that professors write to judges are about letting the judge know that the students are good researchers and writers,” Wexler says.
Ellen Chapnick, dean for social justice initiatives at Columbia Law School, says students with hopes of becoming judges should write advocacy briefs in summer jobs, internships, moot court competitions and law school clinics and externships for experience, and also write law review articles and seminar papers.
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3. Research a school’s job placement track record: A school that helps its recent graduates score high-prestige job opportunities is the one which is most likely to lead to the judiciary, experts say.
Chapnick says prospective law students should take a hard look at the quality of jobs a school’s graduates find after graduation and investigate whether those entry-level jobs are likely to further their professional development, particularly their legal writing. It is also important to determine whether those jobs will result in introductions to potential mentors, she says.
“There are very few judges that get to the appellate court or district courts who have not identified and cultivated leading members of the profession who are willing to help guide their careers and champion them,” says Chapnick, who heads the clerkship, public interest and government career advising program at Columbia .
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Kelly Voight, assistant dean of the career development office at Yale Law School, says the single most important factor in determining whether a person will become a judge is the professional reputation they establish after law school as a practicing attorney.
“Attending a law school in which numerous alumni have gone on to become judges may be valuable for students who are able to connect with those alumni to learn from their experiences,” she said in an email. “However, most important is the ability to develop into an excellent trial lawyer who reaches the pinnacle of his/her chosen career and who achieves an impeccable reputation for excellence and leadership in the profession.”
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Prepare for a Judicial Career in Law School originally appeared on usnews.com
