Education · 1 of 5

The path

Seven years of school, then a job that usually lasts one or two.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   English, government and anything that makes you write long arguments and defend them.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Any major. Grades matter, because law school admission runs mostly on your average and your LSAT (Law School Admission Test) score.

3. 3

   Law school

   3 years

   Three years for a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. Legal writing grades, law review and a judicial internship are what clerkship applications are judged on.

4. 4

   Apply through the courts' system

   During your second and third year

   Federal law clerk and staff attorney positions are posted in OSCAR (the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review). State courts run their own processes.

5. 5

   Clerk for a judge

   1 to 2 years

   Usually one or two years. Then a law firm, a government office, academia, or a second clerkship at a higher court.