Info on Clerkship Experiences Isn't Easy to Find. This Judge Says That Should Change.

“The whole purpose here is to improve and enhance the clerkship experience for the people that we judges depend on to do this important public work,” explained Judge Nazarian of the Appellate Court of Maryland.

LAP board member Judge Douglas R. M. Nazarian spoke with The National Law Journal about LAP’s Centralized Clerkships Database. He explained why LAP’s Database will help judges get more, stronger applicants; how this initiative increases both transparency and diversity in the clerkship application process; and what the judiciary response to LAP’s work has been from some of his colleagues.

“What I found is that the biggest barrier to students from less-represented groups is that they come into law school with less information about what a clerkship is . . . and what the range of opportunities is."

Furthermore, "the availability of a public database of clerkship experiences can only help break down information barriers. Maybe [first- generation law students] hear about this concept of clerkships, but they have some trepidation or it’s just a big unknown to them. The database could be a way to just learn more about what these clerkships entail.”