Law Clerk-Supreme Court

at  North Dakota Court System

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & CERTIFICATION OR LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

Requires a juris doctor degree from an accredited law school and some related experience in conducting legal research and legal writing.

KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS:

• Knowledge of general law, statutory law, and court case precedent.
• General knowledge of court administration and office management policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of court system operations, court procedures, and rules including legal rules of evidence, civil procedures, criminal procedures, and appellate procedures.
• Knowledge of logical legal theorems, their application to legal precedent, rules of legal interpretation, and statutory interpretation.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• Skilled in conducting legal research and the application and interpretation of legal concepts, principles, and legal theorems to the specifics of the individual cases.
• Skilled in the use of legal research resources and software (i.e. Westlaw, LawDesk, Miche, Premise, etc.) and general office support applications (i.e. word processing and other desktop software/applications).
• Skilled in formulating, writing, and drafting legal opinions in a clear, concise, and coherent manner in accordance with the requirements of the court.
• Skilled in applying fundamental legal principles, rules, concepts, precedents, and cases in addressing individual cases and legal problems/issues.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• The essential functions of the job typically require: grasping, walking, sitting, talking, hearing, feeling, seeing, fingering, and some repetitive motions or other reasonable methods that accommodate an individual in completing the essential functions of the job.
• Employee is subject to some limited travel in the performance of the job.
• Physical requirements can typically be characterized as Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 lbs. of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
  The North Dakota Court System offers an excellent benefits package including employer paid family health insurance premiums, retirement contributions and generous vacation and sick leave accruals, visit: Benefits

GENERAL SUMMARY OR PURPOSE

Second-year law students interested in applying for a one-year appointment as a law clerk to the North Dakota Supreme Court should submit the following as an attachment:

• A letter of application addressed to: THE HONORABLE DANIEL J. CROTHERS JUDICIAL WING, 1ST FLOOR 600 EAST BOULEVARD AVENUE BISMARCK, ND 58505-0530
• An autobiographical sketch highlighting your achievement, life events relevant to your studies, or display an important aspect of your character.
• A curriculum vitae.
• Undergraduate transcript.
• L.S.A.T. score report.
• Law school application for admission.
• One official law school transcript to date of application.
• Three letters of recommendation, including at least one from a member of the law school faculty. If a faculty member is submitting a recommendation letter directly to the ND Court System, please upload a document stating such. Please have faculty email recommendation letters to hr@ndcourts.gov.
• A writing sample that has been edited only by the applicant.
• Three references (list these in the Reference section of the application). It is acceptable to list the same individuals who provide letters of recommendation.

The current salary is $80,256 per year. Depending upon availability of funds and the possibility of legislative action for a pay increase between now and August 2026, that amount may change.
The Court requires an individual selected to serve as a law clerk to be legally authorized to work in the United States and expects the individual to successfully complete law school education, take a bar examination of the applicant’s choice before beginning the clerkship, and commit to completing a full one-year term from August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2027. Candidates will be subject to a criminal background check.
Interviews are scheduled for August 2025.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES & ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Title of Immediate Supervisor: Supreme Court Justice
Accountable for (Job Titles): None
FLSA Status: Exempt

The Law Clerk is responsible for providing assistance to the justices by providing legal research, preparing case summaries, and preparing legal memoranda. Works closely under the direction of the justice.

• Conducts legal research, analyzes legal issues, and examines applicable laws prior to court decisions.
• Reads briefs, prior opinions, transcripts, court records, and documents.
• Analyzes legal issues and arguments.
• Performs legal research for statutes, legal precedents, regulations, or legislative history on relevant issues pertaining to the cases(s).
• Writes legal memoranda and statement of issues involved, including suggestions and recommendations to the justice. Drafts proposed opinions as directed.
• Complies references on law and decisions necessary for legal determinations, shepardizes cases either manually or by computerized inquiry.
• Reads and digests briefs, petitions, motions, opinions, and extracts pertinent points of fact and law.
• Reviews, edits, refines, and proofs opinions.
• Attends hearings and/or trials where research may be required to assist the court.
• Performs research and/or assists in the compilation of information and data needed for special projects that may be requested by the justice.
• Performs other duties of a comparable level or type.