Prep for Your Clerkship Interview: Basic Prep

Almanac of the Federal Judiciary online - often offers practitioner commentary about temperament/demeanor, and lists noteworthy cases.

Daily Journal's  Judicial Profiles (print only) - 1-2 page articles (sometimes 5+ years old), for California state and federal judges (incl. SCOTUS & 9th Cir.) - KFC980 .J83

The American Bench (print only) - for many includes "extracurriculars" such as academic societies, civic organizations - KF8700.A19 A54

TheRobingRoom.com - like Yelp! for judges; not all judges are covered/rated. There certainly are ranters and trolls, but you may find real insight, honest and unbiased evaluations, or interesting bits of trivia about a judge's pet peeves and personality quirks. Worth a look if you have internet access while waiting at the airport.

See the Caseload/Dockets section of this guide for resources and tips on getting an overview of a federal trial court judge's current docket, or an overview of the caseload of the court (e.g., the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals) in which your judge sits.

Scan legal news sources to find noteworthy cases decided or pending before your judge; such sources can also sometimes uncover trends implicated by your judge's cases, contextualizing with other cases or legal developments:

• Law360 - search by your judge's name and filter by clicking on "News & Analysis" at the left; scan the topical filters at the left side of the screen (numbers in parentheses show the number of stories in each category) for the topics (e.g., consumer law, bankruptcy, class actions) your judge's newsworthy cases have involved.
• US Law Week - widely used for current awareness of legal developments of general interest. Use the simple search box at the top right to search for your judge's name, then click in the results list for "News" items.

Law Library Catalog:

Books + Articles