**Job Title**: Law Clerk 2025 - 2026
**Job Responsibilities**:
As a law clerk in the **Members Only**, you will gain hands-on experience in various court environments that are recognized and respected nationally. Your responsibilities will vary depending on the division you are assigned to, including the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Tax Court, or Superior Courts. The roles involve:
- **Supreme Court**: Work with justices on complex cases involving challenging issues of law. You will perform legal research, prepare written memoranda on novel issues, and assist in the preparation of judicial opinions.
- **Appellate Division**: Conduct research, analyze legal data, prepare legal memoranda, process emergent motion applications, and proofread published opinions. You will also assist in editing opinions and preparing weekly memos for judges.
- **Trial Court**: Observe judicial proceedings, attend conferences with attorneys and judges, receive training in mediation, and mediate small claims cases. You will summarize information for judges and manage case files.
- **Tax Court**: Review and process motions, conduct legal research, draft case management orders, manage the motion calendar, and communicate with attorneys and litigants. You will gain experience in judicial tax challenges and assist with remote proceedings.
- **Assignment Judge**: Conduct legal research, prepare legal memos, manage the judge's docket, and communicate regularly with counsel and courthouse staff. You will assist with administrative duties and handle emergent motions.
- **Family Division**: Handle disputes involving children, youth, spouses, and domestic partners. You will conduct legal research, assist with remote proceedings, draft legal opinions and orders, and manage adjournment requests.
- **Civil Division**: Prepare bench memoranda for civil motions, perform legal research, draft and edit legal documents, manage the motion calendar, and assist with case management functions. You will gain exposure to a wide array of legal issues.
- **Criminal Division**: Conduct legal research, assist in drafting jury instructions and legal opinions, manage the motion calendar, and perform case management functions. You will work on cases involving criminal offenses and assist with pretrial detention hearings.
- **General Equity (Chancery)**: Conduct legal research on non-monetary relief cases, prepare bench memoranda, draft orders, and interact with counsel regarding procedural issues. You will assist in processing emergent temporary restraining orders.
**Education and Experience Information**:
- Applicants must have graduated from a law school approved by the American Bar Association by the time of their law clerk appointment.
- The program is intended for recent law school graduates, defined as graduating within the last four years.
- Excellent writing and analytical skills are essential.
- Mediation skills are a plus, and it is beneficial to have completed a course in mediation prior to the start of the clerkship. Selected applicants may request a waiver for the Judiciary's mediation training if they have completed an equivalent course.
**Salary Information**:
Salaries for the 2025-2026 court term are to be determined based on funding availability. Salaries for the 2024-2025 court term are as follows:
- Supreme Court: $76,400
- Supreme Court Appellate Division: $69,750
- Superior Court Assignment Judge: $63,950
- Superior Court Chancery Division (General Equity): $63,950
- Superior Court Law Division (Civil and Criminal): $58,900
- Superior Court Chancery Division (Family): $58,900
- Tax Court: $58,900
**Additional Information**:
- Law clerks may hold outside employment with prior approval.
- A valid driver's license in New Jersey is required if vehicle operation is necessary for job duties.
- US citizenship is not required, but candidates must be authorized to work in the US.
- A thorough background check, including fingerprinting, is mandatory.
- Residency in New Jersey is required within one year of hire, but law clerks are exempt during their court term.
- Approximately 480 clerkships are available annually, with most openings in the Superior Court Law Division and Family Court.
- The Judiciary offers a hybrid work schedule, allowing up to four days per month of remote work.
- Applications for clerkships will open on June 10, 2024, through the Judiciary's web-based portal. Interviews will begin on June 17, 2024.
