Judicial Internship Program

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division's (TBA YLD) Judicial Internship Program matches law students in Tennessee with appellate and trial court judges in the state who have agreed to accept summer clerks. Students will be placed with judges for either six or 12-week assignments. No compensation will be available, but we hope the experience gained through the program will provide participants with meaningful and practical benefits.

The application process for Summer 2013 assignments is now underway. Learn more below.

2013 Application Process

The 2013 application period will run through Feb. 4, 2013. Please read these instructions carefully as the application and submission process have changed from last year.

ELIGIBILITY

* The Judicial Internship Program is open to Tennessee law students in their first or second years of study. Third year students at the Nashville School of Law and the Duncan School of Law also may apply.

* Students selected for the program will be required to watch an online video training on what to expect as a judicial clerk.

* Applicants need not be members of the TBA to participate.

APPLICATION

Applications must be received in the TBA office by 5 p.m. Central on Feb. 4, 2013.

Application Documents
Students should download the following documents:

* Application Cover Sheet
* Application
* Application Instructions

Be sure to use the latest version of Adobe Reader to complete the fill-in forms if you want to save the pdfs with your data.

* One (1) hard copy of the application cover sheet
* Three (3) hard copies of the application packet (see below for details)
* One (1) electronic copy of the application packet (see below for details)

Hard Copy Instructions
Each application packet should contain the following four documents assembled in the following order:
--- Application
--- Resume

--- Transcript

--- Writing Sample

Each packet should be prepared as follows:
--- Documents should be printed on a single side (no double-sided copies)
--- Documents should be printed on plain copy paper (do not use bond or resume paper)
--- Each application packet should be clipped together with a binder clip (yielding three clipped packets)
--- Do not use presentation or file folders or any other binding system on packets
--- No staples, paper clips or fastners other than binder clips should be used on the outer packet
--- No staples, paper clips or any other fastners should be used on documents that are contained within the packet

Three packets should be assembled.

One (1) application cover sheet should be included on top of the three packets.

Hard copies should be sent to:
Stacey Shrader
Tennessee Bar Association
221 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 400
Nashville, TN 37219

Electronic Copy Instructions
One copy of the application packet should be submitted as follows:
--- The cover sheet should be submitted as a separate attachment
--- All other documents (application, resume, transcript and writing sample) can be combined and submitted as a second attachment or be submitted individually.

Electronic copies should be emailed to:
Stacey Shrader
sshrader@tnbar.org

Writing Samples
Students should submit three copies of the same writing sample. Pick your best work and make three copies of it. Multiple versions will be discarded and not sent to judges. Writing samples should be no more than 15 pages in length.

Transcripts
Transcripts must be included in the student's application packet. Transcripts sent under separate cover will not be accepted. Unofficial versions of transcripts ARE acceptable.

Extraneous Material
Any extraneous material included in a student's application packet (e.g., cover letters, recommendation letters, personal statements, etc.) will be discarded and not sent to judges.

KEY DATES

The following timeline provides a summary of the program deadlines and other key dates for participating students:

QUESTIONS?

For questions about the Judicial Internship Program or the application process, please contact Tennessee Bar Association staff member Stacey Shrader at (615) 383-7421 or sshrader@tnbar.org.

For questions about the program in general or what to expect when working with a judge, please contact Joe Fanduzz, chair of the YLD Membership Committee, or Nathan Shelby, vice chair of the committee. Contact information for both is listed to the right.

At the TBA YLD, we are committed to the bar's relationship with law students in the state and are excited to make this judicial internship program available to you. We welcome your participation in this or any other program of the TBA! Please do not hesitate to contact either us if we can assist you in any way.