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Appellate Advocacy Blog
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Clerkship Transparency

By Tessa L. Dysart

Last week I saw an article on Law.com about the Legal Accountability Project, “a nonprofit focused on preventing harassment in the judiciary that is creating a database of reviews from former law clerks on their judges as managers and the overall work environment.” The article included an interview with Maryland State Appellate Judge Doug Nazarian, who joined the Project’s board and is a strong advocate for more information about clerkships:

“The whole purpose here is to improve and enhance the clerkship experience for the people that we judges depend on to do this important public work,” said Nazarian, who sits on the Maryland Appellate Court. ”I want the students who apply to clerkships in general and who apply to clerk for me to have the best information about what the job is and what I’m about and to be in a position to make an informed decision about whether that’s something they want to do.”

The Project database, if schools participate, will go a long way in sharing information about clerkships:

. . . Former clerks from participating law schools would create an account with LAP to access the database, where they could fill out a survey about their experience, anonymously if they wish. The survey would ask if they experienced any harassment or discrimination, how the judge provided feedback, if the clerkship provided writing experience and whether vacation days were available, in addition to other questions. Responses would be viewable only by students at participating schools and not by the public.

I am a big fan of students carefully researching clerkships, as I discuss in my recent book A Short & Happy Guide to Judicial Clerkships, which Judge Nazarian is reviewing for the Summer 2023 issue of The Journal of Appellate Practice & Process. Some schools do a great job connecting potential clerks with former clerks to talk candidly about judges. Similarly, well-organized legal organizations, like the Federalist Society, can also help connect former and potential clerks. But, a national database would definitely provide more opportunities to read about judges, especially for potential clerks from lower ranked law schools.

I look forward to hearing more about the Project as it unfolds.