Favorite Parts Of Being A Law Clerk At A State Government
Erica, a Law Clerk, most enjoys the "sneak peek behind the curtain" of legal practice, learning valuable skills applicable to a future attorney career. The experience provides a wide range of learning opportunities, from observing diverse advocacy tactics and case outcomes to understanding judicial preferences, shaping their approach to future client representation.
Legal Professionals, Law Clerk, Legal Advocacy, Court Procedures, Professional Development
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Erica Roberts
Law Clerk
State Government District
University of California, Los Angeles. Graduated 2018
The University of Texas School of Law
Economics
Government & Public Sector, Law
Legal
Greek Life Member, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. Learning opportunities: The role provides invaluable experience and insights into various legal fields, including criminal law, and different advocacy tactics.
2. Observational learning: The position offers a unique perspective into courtroom procedures, allowing for learning from experienced attorneys and judges, and understanding effective strategies.
3. Practical skills development: The role emphasizes the importance of understanding judicial preferences and adapting to different legal styles and formatting requirements, which are crucial for future legal practice.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your current role?
Each experience comes with Clerk, and it's very beneficial for the career I want to have. It will make me a better attorney. So, I enjoy learning the most.
I see everything. I don't want to be a criminal attorney, but I'm constantly working on criminal cases. Even that effort will help me in the future and will make me a better advocate for my clients going forward.
I see lots of different ways of advocating for clients and different tactics that different lawyers use. Through talking with the judge and seeing how cases turn out, I'm getting a sense of what to do and what not to do as a lawyer. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
It's such a sneak peek behind the curtain of what I'm going to be doing later. It's almost like a cheat code for what to do and what not to do when you're advocating for a client and when you're filing things with the court.
It's also just a lesson in preferences. Just like professors and every other person, judges have preferences on font, text justification, or not, and on citations and things like that.
Something that I've learned in the past might be correct for one person. I could turn it into my judge, and she will say that this is not the way that she prefers it. It's not that one thing is right or wrong, but it's just about preferences.
Knowing your audience is really important, and that's something that I'm learning. So, I'm just enjoying how much I'm learning. I'm really soaking it up.