Preparation for Future Law Clerks

This month, the popular law blog, The Volokh Conspiracy, posts several entries of interest to soon-to-be judicial clerks that include reading recommendations of books, articles, blogs and other material. See the postings here and especially here to find useful comments of current and former judicial clerks. Most of the titles listed here were suggested in the comments and are available in the BLS Library collection with the Call Number:

Frank Morey Coffin, On Appeal: Courts, Lawyering, and Judging
Call # KF8750 .C62 1994

Frank Morey Coffin, The Ways of a Judge: Reflections from the Federal Appellate Bench
Call # KF8750 .C63

Erwin Chemerinsky, Federal Jurisdiction
Call # KF8858 .C43 2007

Bryan A Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage
Call # PE2827 .G37 2003

Ruggero J. Aldisert, Opinion Writing, West Pub., 1990.

Other recommendations are Joseph Kimble’s 2006 article on plain language, The Straight Skinny on Better Judicial Opinions; the Green Bag's Clerkship Politics and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines at http://www.ussc.gov/2007guid/Chap1.pdf. The law clerks suggested daily reading of leading blogs like Sentencing Law & Policy, How Appealing, Decision of the Day, SCOTUSblog and The Volokh Conspiracy.

The comments also include useful practical tips that prospective law clerks will want to read. Not the least of these is to “introduce yourself to the law librarians. They can be terrific sources of help to you with research, acquiring materials from other places, and information re navigating the courthouse and its personnel. Law librarians are hardwired to be helpful -- and they really want you to be a success at your clerkship.”