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2. Judicial Law Clerks in Other Jurisdictions B. Why Hire a Tribal Judicial Law Clerk?

Tribal Courts must compete for judicial law clerks with other jurisdictions. The federal courts offer
many clerkship opportunities, but the number of openings in state courts varies with a state’s Having a judicial law clerk can benefit everyone in the tribal judicial system. A clerk can assist the
population and the resulting size of its judiciary. Inadequate funding limits clerkships at the trial level, tribal judge with legal research and writing, court services, and administrative duties. Additionally, a
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but intermediate appellate courts provide more opportunities. Generally, a state’s highest court tribal clerkship offers many advantages to the clerk because it allows the clerk to contribute to the
offers ongoing clerkship opportunities. 12
legal profession and the judiciary. A tribal court clerkship provides a valuable experience to learn the
The state and federal court systems have specialty courts on the trial and appellate levels that also cultural and community values of a tribal court system.
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employ judicial law clerks. For example, the federal court system includes the Court of International
Trade, the Federal Claims Court, and bankruptcy courts. At the appellate level, opportunities in
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specialty courts include Military Appeals Court, a Veterans Appeals Court, and a Temporary Emergency 1. Research and Writing
Court of Appeals. Some states have similar specialty courts for cases involving tax, worker’s
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compensation, children, and drug courts. Additionally, some administrative law judges in federal A judicial law clerk’s greatest asset is the research, writing, and analytical skills initially developed in
agencies hire clerks. law school and then refined under the mentorship of the judge. A clerk expects to research, analyze,
write court documents, and act as a soundingboard for the judge during the decision-making process.
A tribal clerkship experience is very different from federal and state courts because tribal courts may
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blend tribal law and custom with Anglo-American legal principles. Judges can teach law clerks to The judicial law clerk should learn to research all sources—not just laws and cases but also court
handle conflict between tribal members using tribal law and custom. Importantly, tribal judges can practices, court manuals, self-help guides, and administrative manuals.
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promote tribal self-determination and sovereignty by offering a clerkship to Native American and The judicial law clerk can help the judge with any written projects. The clerk may write a bench
Alaska Native law students and new attorneys.
memo that objectively evaluates the facts, relevant laws, and the parties’ arguments. The judge
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may prefer to write opinions independently, or may ask the clerk to write a first draft of court orders
and opinions. To promote administrative and judicial efficiency, the judge should inform the clerk
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about his or her preferred writing style. Finally, the clerk helps the judge with proofreading and cite-
checking.

A judicial law clerk may brief the judge on issues that require quick resolution. Instead of writing
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time-consuming memos, the judge and clerk may talk about issues prior to a hearing or trial. This
meeting offers a chance to discuss any problematic issues, examine the arguments, and discuss the
questions the judge might ask the attorneys.

2. Court Operations/Services

A judicial law clerk can play an essential role on the tribal court staff by helping the judge run an
organized and efficient chamber. Because the court interacts with lawyers and lay persons, there are
numerous opportunities to learn about judicial values such as access to justice. Tribal law clerks can
help with:

ᆤ Providing public resources and documents, such as creating court information sheets
and pro se litigant forms;

ᆤ Assisting with case management systems to increase the efficiency of the court’s docket;

ᆤ Rewriting or creating new tribal court forms and rules; and
11 Id. at 8. ᆤ Scheduling, organizing records, assembling documents, and phone calls for the judge.
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12 Id.
13 Dunnewold et al., supra, at 16.
14 Id. 18 Dunnewold et al., supra note 4, at 22.
15 Id. 19 Id. at 23.
16 Case & Tompkins, supra note 1, at 11. 20 Id.
17 Id. 21 Id. at 25.
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