Putting a Judicial Internship on a Resume — Easy!

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A judicial internship is when students work for a judge while in law school. 

It provides law students with valuable experience, all of which is important practice for when later applying for a full-time clerk job.

If you have done a judicial internship and are applying to a law firm, keep reading for the best ways to include it in your resume!

 

Where to put a judicial internship on a resume?

You can add your judicial internship along with your other internship experiences. You can put it in your ‘Work Experience’ section if you haven’t done other internships. If you are still a student or newly graduated, highlight your judicial internship in your professional summary.

 

List your judicial internship in your ‘Internship Experience’ section

A judicial internship is just like any other internship or externship experience. 

It follows the same format. 

If you have done previous internships that are relevant to the job description, you can create an ‘Internship Experience’ section.

There, add the most relevant first.

It might be your judicial internship. Pay close attention to the job description.

When you have an expected judicial internship that you would like to mention, do so briefly.

Only list it if you received your acceptance.

 

Judicial internship in the ‘Internship Experience’ section example

 

Internship Experience

 

Judicial Intern for the Honorable John Smith

United States District Court | Greenbelt, Maryland | Jan 2021 – Feb 2021

• Wrote memoranda.
• Observed Federal and Appeal court cases.
• Edited case briefs.
• Prepared and updated client case files.

 

Legal Intern

Private Firm | Greenbelt, Maryland | Dec 2020 – Dec 2020

• Drafted and filed complaints, motions and orders.
• Filed over 25 confessions of judgment against clients in default.
• Conducted research on complex legal issues.

 

Add your judicial internship with the rest of your work experience

If you have not done other internships or have little previous work experience, you can place your judicial internship in the ‘Work Experience’ section.

You may follow a chronological or reverse chronological order for your work experience.

It depends on which of them is most relevant.

 

Judicial internship in the ‘Work Experience’ section example

 

Work Experience

 

Legal Intern

ABC Inc. | Los Angeles, CA | Jan 2021 – Present

• Preparing and revising complex license agreements.
• Participating in negotiation meetings.
• Interviewing clients about patent agreements.

 

Judicial Intern

The Superior Court of California | Los Angeles, CA | Nov 2020 – Dec 2020

• Conducted in-depth legal research.
• Summarized all attended trial cases.
• Prepared preliminary determinations.
• Attended all hearings with judge.

 

Mention your judicial internship in your professional summary

If you are still a law student or have just graduated, mention your judicial internship in your professional summary.

This highlights straight away that you received valuable hands-on practice even though you might not have as much full-time work experience.

If you have a prestigious incoming judicial internship and would not want to mention it elsewhere, consider mentioning it in your professional summary.

 

Judicial internship in the ‘Professional Summary’ section example

 

Professional Summary

Recently graduated lawyer with a Master’s Degree in Law. Received hands-on experience observing trial cases and writing memoranda and briefs from the Honorable Jane Doe while interning at U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC. 

 

How to add a judicial internship to your resume

List it like you would any other internship and title it ‘Judicial Intern’. Mention the law firm or court you worked for in the location part. Include bullet points of relevant achievements from your internship. You can also add the judge or clerk you worked for in your references.

 

Title your judicial internship as ‘Judicial Intern’ 

One important thing to keep in mind is to not mistake your title.

Many law students title their internship position as ‘Judicial Clerk’ which is incorrect.

A judicial clerk works full-time and holds a Juris Doctor degree. 

Meanwhile, a judicial intern is a law student working for and mostly shadowing a judge.

You would have to get more years of work experience to become a judicial clerk.

Therefore, when doing a judicial internship, your title would be ‘Judicial Intern.’

You can also add ‘for the Honorable FirstName LastName’ in the title to specify which judge you worked for.

Adding the judge’s name might help you network with the hiring official later on in the interview if they personally know who the judge is.

It could also help you stand out from other students if the judge you were assigned to has a prestigious reputation.

 

The location is the judge’s or clerk’s place of employment

In the place of employment portion of the work experience, you would have to list the law firm, judge’s office, or court that your superior worked for.

 

Judicial internship location example

 

Judicial Internship for the Honorable Jane Doe

District of Columbia Court of Appeals | Washington, DC | May 2021 – Present

 

Add bullet points of your most valuable accomplishments

Your resume is a marketing tool for all your experiences.

There are many skills you must have picked up during your judicial internship.

Include 3 to 4 bullet points of your most valuable and transferrable achievements, keeping in mind the requirements from the job description.

The best method to include accomplishments is by starting each sentence with action verbs.

 

Judicial internship achievements example

 

Judicial Intern

Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida | Brooksville, Florida | Feb 2021 – Feb 2021

• Conducted all necessary legal research for each trial.
• Attended tax fraud trials and discussed trial strategies with Honorable Jane Doe.
• Generated and prepared briefs.
• Assisted with all ad hoc legal projects provided.

 

List your judge or clerk superior in your references

If the job description asks for references or if you had a good relationship with your judge or clerk superior, you can add their contact details in your references.

Do so by listing their name, place of employment, phone number, and/or email.

 

Judicial internship reference example

 

References

 

Honorable John Smith

Northern District of California

+1 234 567 891