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Clerking in Paradise

Do you want to clerk in Hawaii?  Why not when you could enjoy this tropical paradise at the footsteps of your office.  Below is a transcribed interview with a judicial clerk who is working for a judge in the First Circuit Court of Hawaii. Tell me about yourself. I graduated from Southwestern Law School in May of 2018.  I worked as an attorney at a mid-size law firm in Los Angeles after I took the California Bar in July of 2018.  At that firm, I worked in the transportation, products liability, premises liability, and insurance defense practice groups.  I made a lifestyle decision to move to Oahu, Hawaii in July of 2019.   Here in Hawaii, I am currently clerking for a judge at the First Circuit Court.  My judge presides over a variety of civil matters, including agency appeals and all asbestos cases.  In September of 2020, I will be joining a top-tier law firm in Oahu where I will be practicing primarily medical malpractice defense. The legal community works hard here i
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Why Should I Clerk for a Judge?

You may be asking yourself: should I clerk for a judge?  A surface-level search of articles answering this question overwhelmingly show it is a good decision for law graduates to mid-level associates who seek to practice law.  You would be hard-pressed to find an article opining otherwise. A more informative question to ask is:  why  should I clerk for a judge?  There are six major reasons why you should consider a clerkship. First: Making a Difference Clerking for a judge is an act of public service that, in turn, increases the clerk's quality of life.  A law clerk is a public servant because he or she helps a judge adjudicate disputes between entities and members of the public.  Necessarily, law clerks help settle disputes and enable litigants to get past their quarrels. Simply put, it feels good to assist in the administration of justice.  Law clerks experience the end to disputes that have been extended through the litigation process.  Even better, law clerks he

What is a Judicial Clerk?

Generally, a judicial clerk assists a judge in researching and drafting tentative orders.  Shall we delve into some specifics? Researching for a Judge Typical research that a judicial clerk performs revolves around a judge's motion calendar.  A motion calendar consists of moving papers, at a minimum.  The moving papers essentially ask the judge for some sort of relief.  For example, a party moving for summary judgment asks a judge to grant judgment as a matter of law.  Often times, moving papers will be met with opposing papers, which may be met with reply papers.  A judicial clerk will analyze all moving, opposing, and reply papers. In reading these papers, a judicial clerk must look to see if procedural and substantive elements are met in determining whether the relief requested may be properly provided.  The papers will, often times, include legal standards and explanatory law.  A judicial clerk must verify these legal standards and explanatory law as being persua