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11 Pass It On: Newsl. Gov't & Pub. Sector Law. Div. 1 (2001-2002)

handle is hein.journals/passit11 and id is 1 raw text is: MI Fa~l2001Volue 11 Numer IIIIIII G P S L D Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division -PASS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION'S GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR LAWYERS DIVISION Judicial Law Clerk: The Legal Experience of a Lifetime By Adam S. Lude A judicial clerkship presents a young lawyer with the opportunity to work one-on-one with an accomplished and re- spected jurist, to hone writing and decision- making skills, to gain an inside perspective on the court system, and often, to make a trusted friend and mentor. Law clerks not only make up a large segment of govern- ment lawyers, but many state and federal government public servants and leaders are attorneys who began their careers as judicial law clerks. Indeed, several United States senators including Michael Crapo of Idaho, Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Richard Shelby of Alabama, Gordon Smith of Ore- gon, and John Warner of Virginia are for- mer judicial clerks. Most federal and state judges select first-year attorneys to serve as their law clerks for one or two year terms. Each year, a judge may receive hundreds of applica- tions for a clerkship opening but can only hire from one to four law clerks, depending upon the court. For example, a federal dis- trict court judge may typically hire two law clerks, whereas a judge who sits on a feder- al court of appeals may hire four. Similarly, a state trial court judge may typically hire one law clerk, while a state appellate court judge may hire two. A law clerk's experience varies from court to court and from judge to judge. This article profiles several law clerks who clerked in different courts and uses their stories to illustrate the clerkship experience. A Special Relationship Growing up, Bill Agee had a close friend- ship with the son of Chief Judge Levin H. Campbell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston. When Agee was a teenager, Judge Campbell would invite his law clerks and Agee to the Campbells' sum- mer home in Maine. There, Agee would talk to the law clerks about their work and observed the unique relationship Judge Campbell shared with his clerks. Seeing that relationship, Agee decided he wanted to serve as a law clerk. Agee, who is now Assistant General Counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy, ap- plied for a clerkship during his second year of law school. That year, he received sever- al interviews, including one with federal district court judge Clarence C. Newcomer in Philadelphia, but did not receive any of- fers. Agee was determined though, and he applied again during his third year of law school, this time for a clerkship to begin as a second year attorney. He interviewed with Judge Newcomer again, and Judge Newcomer offered Agee the clerkship. Agee had a problem though, he had al- ready accepted an offer to join the Philadel- phia law firm Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen as a first year associate, and if he clerked, he would have to leave the firm after only one year. When asked how he dealt with the situation, Agee said that he 'was not going to let the Holy Grail slip through [his] fingers. The Chairman of Wolf Block, Mark L. Alderman, met with Agee the afternoon that he received the offer and Alderman strongly supported Agee's desire to clerk for Judge Newcomer. Alderman had himself served as a law clerk and found the experience to be an ex- traordinary one. After joining Wolf Block for the first year, Agee went on to clerk for Judge Newcomer. As a law clerk, Agee prepared drafts of opinions and jury instructions and dis- cussed cases daily with Judge Newcomer. Since his clerkship, Agee has continued in public service: as Assistant Legal Counsel to former New Jersey GovernorJamesJ. continued on page 2 Fall 2001 Volume 11, Number I

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