Thread by @JonahPerlin

I recently had a #1L student who is about to start a judicial internship ask for some advice on how to get the most out of the experience.

As a former judicial intern, federal law clerk (x2), and now law professor, here are 7 tips:

1. Quality > Quantity. You'll be asked to draft documents for your judge. Even better, you won't be under the same time pressure as clerks. Just remember, you won't be judged by how fast you work or # of cases, but only on the quality of your work. Take the time. Do your best.

2. Be a Team Player. A judge's chambers is a team. That means you need to complete your own tasks, but also chip in wherever possible. Clerk seem stressed? Offer to help research. Deputy setting up the courtroom? Help. No task is too small, and people remember those who help.

3. When Given a Chance to be in Court, Say Yes. Of course, you want to do your best written work (see #1) BUT the reason to be a judicial intern is to get the chance to see real litigators perform their craft in court. Take it all in. Talk to judge and clerks after about it.

4. Confidentiality. This one has been in the news a bit recently...

TL;dr: Unless your Judge specifically says you can talk about a case, don't talk about it. Anywhere. In any way. If there is a cardinal sin for judicial interns, this would be it.

5. A Draft is Not a Draft. Judges rely on their interns to be thorough and polished. You may be working on one or two cases, the Judge may have hundreds. That means when a Judge asks for research or a "draft" doc they expect something that is comprehensive and ready to publish.

6. Ask Questions. #5 notwithstanding, don't hesitate to ask questions. By definition, you are new at this and Judges (and even clerks) are seasoned veterans. Before going down a rabbit hole or choosing an approach, just ask. This will make the process faster and product better.

7. Learn from the Experience. As a judicial intern you still have time to decide what you want to do when you grow up. Use this opportunity to help figure that out. Maybe you find your practice area or that you never want to litigate. Either way, its worth it!

BONUS: Make sure to keep a list of 1-3 the most important/interesting/eye-opening/awful experiences (confidentially, of course). For the next 10 years (if not longer), one of the first questions you'll get in *every* interview is "tell me about your summer with the Judge."

And of course #lawtwitter/#legalwriting Twitter is all about crowdsourcing so if others have suggestions, thoughts, disagreements or comments please reply to this thread.