Legal · Holland code CEI

Judicial Law Clerks

Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.

Also called: Judicial Assistant, Judicial Clerk, Judicial Law Clerk, Law Clerk, Appellate Law Clerk, Career Judicial Law Clerk, Career Law Clerk, Law Researcher.

O*NET 23-1012.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $64,920; Middle half earn $52,870 to $80,420. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 52% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
Enter information into computerized court calendar, filing, or case management systems.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.5 / 5
Active Listening4.3 / 5
Critical Thinking4.3 / 5
Writing4.1 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Active Learning3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.9 / 5
English Language4.5 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5
Computers and Electronics2.9 / 5
Public Safety and Security2.7 / 5
Administration and Management2.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic10
Investigative50
Artistic18
Social40
Enterprising59
Conventional68

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

court administrator · DE Gerichtsverwalter/Gerichtsverwalterin · FR chef de juridiction
judge · DE Richter/Richterin · FR juge
supreme court judge · DE Richter am Obersten Gerichtshof/Richterin am Obersten Gerichtshof · FR juge de la juridiction suprême
notary · DE Notar/Notarin · FR notaire
court jury coordinator · DE Gerichtskoordinator/Gerichtskoordinatorin · FR coordonnateur de jury de cour/coordonnatrice de jury de cour
legal administrative assistant · DE Anwaltssekretär/Anwaltssekretärin · FR auxiliaire juridique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
Legal associate professionals (3520)57,300 employed
Legal secretaries (4212)30,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.46. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (23-1012).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test