Careers / Judicial Law Clerks

Judicial Law Clerks — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$64,920

United States, 2025

Employment

13,290

United States, 2025

Typical education

Doctoral Degree

Job Zone 5

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.

O*NET code
23-1012.00
Job zone
5
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
  • Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
  • Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
  • Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
  • Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
  • Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
  • Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
  • Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$46,180
10th
$52,870
25th
$64,920
Median
$80,420
75th
$113,140
90th

10th percentile

$46,180

25th percentile

$52,870

75th percentile

$80,420

90th percentile

$113,140

Most important skills

  • Reading Comprehension4.5
  • Active Listening4.3
  • Critical Thinking4.3
  • Writing4.1
  • Speaking4.0
  • Active Learning3.8
  • Complex Problem Solving3.5
  • Time Management3.3
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Social Perceptiveness3.0
  • Learning Strategies3.0
  • Monitoring3.0

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 13 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

13

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Reading Comprehension4.54.9Not selected4.9
Critical Thinking4.34.6Not selected4.6
Active Listening4.34.3Not selected4.3
Writing4.14.4Not selected4.4
Speaking4.04.3Not selected4.3
Active Learning3.84.1Not selected4.1
Complex Problem Solving3.53.6Not selected3.6
Judgment and Decision Making3.33.6Not selected3.6
Time Management3.33.3Not selected3.3
Monitoring3.03.3Not selected3.3
Social Perceptiveness3.03.1Not selected3.1
Learning Strategies3.03.0Not selected3.0
Coordination3.03.0Not selected3.0

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
MA$143,3505002025
Boston, MA$143,3503802025
Springfield, MA$143,350402025
Albany, NY$136,950802025
NY$133,3208502025
Hartford, CT$101,8901202025
CT$98,6702702025
Little Rock, AR$97,840502025
San Francisco, CA$90,6502402025
Knoxville, TN$87,8202025
OR$86,870302025
ND$85,530402025
Spokane, WA$84,010702025
Riverside, CA$80,4203402025
Seattle, WA$80,2403202025
WA$80,2405802025
AR$80,150502025
Santa Rosa, CA$79,770302025
Sacramento, CA$79,580402025
CA$79,0301,8002025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Judicial Law Clerks to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.