How to be a judges clerk

Application

During your last year at law school, your law school will invite applications for judges clerking. The role is a fixed-term two-year appointment. Clerks from law schools where students often complete their LLB(Hons) dissertations during their first six months of working every year.

The advertisement often says something to the effect that students with “outstanding” grades are invited to apply. The clerks’ experience is that any student whose grades qualify them for the honours programme will be able to make a competitive application.  Applications will be sent to the judges who administer the recruitment process on behalf of the respective courts.

You will be required to submit a short cover letter, a copy of your academic transcript, your GPA in law (excluding the first year), a curriculum vitae, a complete copy of a significant piece of writing no more than 50 pages and the names of two or three referees (one of whom must be a legal academic) who may be contacted in relation to suitability for appointment.

In addition to contacting the nominated referees, input on the academic ranking and other attributes of candidates will be sought on a confidential basis from Deans of the law schools and other academic staff and any recent legal employers.

Interview

Short-listed candidates for positions with the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal will be interviewed around March and offers of appointment to those positions made soon thereafter. Unsuccessful candidates will expect to be notified by around April.

All interviews are conducted via virtual meeting room (VMR). The interview panel will be comprised of a mixture of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges. The interview is usually conversational, focusing on your achievements as stated in your CV, your interests in the law, other interests, and your professional working experience. Current clerks will then provide you with a tour of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal complexes. Between 7 and 10 appellate clerkships are available each year. 

Once these appointments are made, the High Court judges responsible for hiring at the Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch registries will interview a fresh short-list of applicants for those positions. Those interviewed for appellate positions who do not secure a role at those courts are often invited to interview at the High Court Like the appellate interviews, these interviews are conversational in tone. The interviews are usually with the two judges responsible for hiring at each registry. Each year, 8-9 High Court clerkships are available in Auckland, 3-4 in Wellington, and 1-2 in Christchurch. 

You are not restricted to working at the High Court registry nearest your law school. Clerking can be an excellent opportunity to experience a new city for two years alongside others in a similar position. However, the hiring judges do accommodate candidates’ preferences on location as far as is possible. Once hired to work in a particular city, you cannot be made to move between registries without your consent. 

Salary

The present starting salary of judges’ clerks on appointment at all levels is $67,845 pa, progressing in six-monthly increments to $82,135 per annum for the last six months of their contract.

Your profs fees are paid for by the Ministry of Justice, and you are given paid time off from work to complete profs.

The clerks’ experience is that those who take up employment with firms after completing their clerkship are treated as third year solicitors for the purposes of remuneration and seniority.