Professional Growth
At Judicial Clerkship Bootcamp, Law Students Get Firsthand Advice for Making the Cut
April 24, 2026
Clockwise from top left: GW Law student Haven Grier, Judge Tiffany Williams Brewer, Judge Vijay Shanker, and Judge Robert Okun.It’s no secret that top law firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations value job applicants who have served as judicial clerks. To help people navigate the competitive selection process, the D.C. Bar Law Student Community held the 2026 Judicial Clerkship Bootcamp virtually on April 10, featuring several D.C. judges and attorneys.
Michele Hoff, director of judicial clerkships at Georgetown University Law Center, began the two-hour presentation with an overview of the process and the benefits of clerking. “You will get a firsthand, behind-the scenes look at how a judge considers facts, cases, and the law that is in front of them and [what they] go through to make decisions,” Hoff said.
Hoff recommended first contemplating one’s personal motivation for applying. “That ‘why’ can be different for everyone,” Hoff said. “For some, it could be that [you] want to focus primarily on research and writing … for others, it could be looking ahead and knowing that [you] want to end up in the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.” And while a clerkship is impressive, Hoff said that prestige should not be the only driving reason to apply.
Hoff’s other recommendations included having a good network of references, seeking opportunities to strengthen one’s legal writing skills, and focusing on coursework and interests.
Hoff outlined the different courts that offer clerkships — appellate, federal, specialty, trial, state, and administrative — and the experience each one entails. For instance, appellate court clerkships involve more self-driven, intensive research and writing with a more predicable workflow; state courts often handle a high volume of cases involving family law, criminal issues, and probate matters.
Recollections From Clerks
Tamya Anderson, a 3L student at Howard University School of Law, moderated a panel featuring Frederick Hall, who clerked for Judge James Gwin in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio and Judge D. Michael Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Prisila Otazo, a 2L law student at the University of the District of Columbia and former intern to Magistrate Judge Melanie Acuña of D.C. Superior Court; Sydney Taylor, assistant U.S. attorney in New York City; and Zain Walker, an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia.
Hall explained why he decided to do two consecutive clerkships. “I knew that I wanted to do both because I wanted both experiences,” he said. “When I was a district clerk, I was in court all the time … Many of [the hearings] were criminal [cases] but not all of them … Then when I did the circuit clerkship, it was a much more cerebral experience. It was like being in a monastery,” referring to the relative isolation in focusing on research and writing.
Even though Hall preferred the hands-on work experience as a district clerk, he said that the circuit clerkship was more beneficial for his overall legal career.
Walker, who clerked for senior judges on the D.C. Court of Appeals, also compared his clerkship to being in a monastery. “Most of the judges worked virtually; they didn’t come in unless there was an oral argument,” Walker recalled. “So, we weren’t necessarily expected to show up [at the court] all the time. But there was plenty of work to be done, [with] very little direct supervision. And I worked great in that situation.”
Otazo talked about her interactions with the full-time clerks from an intern’s perspective, including a one-on-one relationship with her supervising clerk. “But [the experience] was more team-based,” Otazo said. “I think the experience really depends on your judge” and how open they are to exchanges with interns.
Responding to a question about the ability to choose the types of cases they worked on, Hall and Taylor both said that they were assigned them and hoped that the cases aligned with their interests. “I had a judge who was very hands-on when it came to criminal cases, and I was able to sit in on those hearings, but that was an area that I wanted to delve into full-time,” Taylor said.
Judges’ Perspectives
Haven Grier, a 2L student at the George Washington University Law School, moderated a panel consisting of Judge Robert Okun of D.C. Superior Court; Judge Vijay Shanker of the D.C. Court of Appeals; and the Honorable Tiffany Williams Brewer, a former administrative law judge who is now a professor at Howard University School of Law. Together, they discussed what they look for in great clerks.
Brewer talked about the importance of conducting deep research. She said that during her own clerkship, the judge advised her to read actual books instead of relying on online research. “I think that judges look for clerks who can be very, very detailed and analytical in how they are gathering related authority for the judges’ consideration,” Brewer said. “I’m fortunate that I learned that. And I try to pass that on.”
Considering the competitive nature of clerkships, Shanker said that grades matter when judges are going through nearly 700 applications. “I’m not necessarily focused on law school name. So, your performance at a non-top 20 law school can certainly put you in the running,” he said. “I don’t look for anything in particular in a cover letter or résumé. But one thing that will get you eliminated is typos and mistakes.”
Shanker added that he prefers “brief, succinct cover letters that [don’t] just repeat what’s on the résumé. That tells me how you write,” he explained.
Okun advised students to be prepared to answer questions regarding their résumé. “Make sure you’ve reviewed it before you enter that interview,” he said, noting that applicants may not readily recall some of the experiences they listed. “I’m also always impressed when someone has done research … and has questions about what the job involves.”
“I clearly appreciate if someone has done some research on me — to show that they have some understanding of my background as a judge,” Okun said.
The panelists mentioned that clerkships involve working in very close environments. So, working well with others is important. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m looking not just [at whether] the person is qualified, but [also whether] this person will be a good fit from a personality perspective,” Okun added.
