Once a student or alum decides to apply for a clerkship, Penn Law is there. In spring of the 2L year, the Clerkship Committee holds a formal clerk application meeting to talk about types of clerkships, applications, recommendations, and the intimate assistance that Penn Law offers. (See below)

Applications arrive in judges' hands the day after Labor Day. Judges review applications during a "reading week" and begin interviewing the following Monday. "It's an intense time and judges usually make decisions pretty quickly," says Downs. "But the process goes on continuously until end of the academic year since new judges are appointed all the time."