JD Journal » judicial clerks

Albany Law School Boasts 94% Employment for ’08 Grads

Erik Even — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:08:46 +0000

Albany Law School has announced a 94% employment rate in legal positions for its 2008 graduating class, outpacing the national average of 90% for all law schools.

Each year, Albany Law School’s Career Center coordinates more than 1,000 job interviews on campus, as well as many more off campus; processes more than 7,000 job applications; and organizes more than a dozen job fairs.

One third of Albany Law’s 2008 class is employed in New York City, while an additional one third is employed in the greater Capital Region.

Of the 2008 grads, 49% went to law firms; 16% into government; 9% got judicial clerkships; 19% into business and industry. Six percent went into public interest law, and 2% are in academia.

Albany Law School is an ABA accredited law school based in Albany, New York. Founded in 1851 by Robert H. Pruyn and others, Albany Law School is the oldest independent law school in the United States.

Florida County Clerks Cut 260 Jobs

Erik Even — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:09:35 +0000

State budget cuts are forcing Florida’s Court Clerks to cut at least 259 staff.

The Broward County Clerk of Courts has eliminated 14 employees, and will cut at least 34 more before the end of June. Eighty-one positions will be left vacant. The Clerk employs over 900 poeple.

The Miami-Dade County Clerk will lay off 145 people and cut 83 vacant positions.

And the Palm Beach County Clerk will cut 66 employees through layoffs and voluntary departures.

Most counties in the US have an elected county clerk, whose responsibilities typically include election administration, and the collection and filing of vital records such as birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage licenses. A county clerk may also be the clerk to the local court system, with responsibilities for accepting and maintaining case files and other legal records.

Massachusetts Superior Court Fires Clerks Before They Begin

Erik Even — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:30:00 +0000

The Massachusetts Superior Court has informed 25 3Ls they will not be hired after all as court clerks.

It appears that the decision to rescind the job offers was made last Fall, when the courts instituted a hiring freeze; but those affected are only being informed now.

The court says the hirings were always contingent on funding, and that the wording on the original offers was conditional.

Skadden Selects 28 Fellows

Erik Even — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:54:51 +0000

The law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has announced the selection of 28 Skadden Fellows for the class of 2009, bringing to 564 the number of law school graduates and judicial clerks the firm has funded to work full-time for legal and advocacy organizations.

Called “a legal Peace Corps” by the Los Angeles Times, the Skadden Fellowship Program was established in 1988 to commemorate the firm’s 40th anniversary. The program supports graduating law students and judicial clerks who choose to devote their professional careers to providing legal services to underserved members of society, including the poor, the working poor, the elderly, the disabled and those deprived of their civil or human rights.

The initiative has had a lasting impact on public interest law, as more than 90 percent of all Fellows have remained in the public sector since their selection.

This year’s class of 28 Fellows will work in 12 states, the District of Columbia and Mexico. Their projects include an effort to end payday lending in the Mississippi Delta, and advocacy to stabilize and strengthen foreclosure-stricken communities.

Fellows will also assist South Asian, Arab and Muslim residents of New York who are affected by abuses of post-9/11 security measures; counsel trafficked Chinese youth on matters of workers’ rights and education; and aid Alaska natives in their effort to relocate threatened coastal villages.