Overview
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is composed of a Chief Judge, 61 Associate Judges, Magistrate Judges, and several Senior Judges. Judges are assigned to specific calendars to hear cases in the Civil, Criminal, Domestic Violence, Family, or Probate and Tax divisions.
Clerkships
Judges are assisted by law clerks, who are usually recent law school graduates. Law clerks handle a wide range of legal and administrative matters such as conducting legal research, helping judges prepare for court hearings and trials, and drafting court orders.
New law clerks are hired each year to serve one- or two-year terms. Some law clerk positions support one Associate Judge, and others support a pair or more of Magistrate or Senior Judges handling similar assignments.
Compensation of judicial law clerks is set according to the General Schedule pay scale. Law clerks with no prior legal experience will receive pay at the GS grade 11, step 1 rate. Law clerks with prior legal experience may be eligible to receive pay at a higher step.
Internships
Some judges also accept law students as interns both during the school year and during the summer. These internship positions are unpaid. Students should check with their law school administration about whether their school may offer course credit for judicial internships.
How to Apply for a Clerkship or Internship
Law clerks and interns are hired directly by individual judges. For information about how to apply for a clerkship or internship, please contact the individual judges’ chambers.
You can email individuals judges’ chambers by using the following address template: Judge[LASTNAME]Chambers [at] dcsc.gov.
You can find additional contact information as well as information about individual judges’ current assignments on the main Superior Court Judges page. Please note that judges’ assignments are subject to change, generally at the beginning of each calendar year.