The job of a supreme court law clerk is to offer direct assistance while also providing counsel to the judge through research and legal opinions. The supreme court law clerk is usually a lawyer. Aside from this, they also write bench memorandums on cases that the supreme court needs to review while also preparing for arguments and the justice’s opinion on a case. Let’s learn about ‘Salaries For Supreme Court Law Clerk’.
Salaries For Supreme Court Law Clerk
The supreme court law clerk’s role is quite a large one in the courtroom and hence, the salary would be rather high. While many circumstances affect the salary of a supreme court law clerk, either being too high or too low, the United States average is nonetheless 53,000 dollars per year approximately. Circumstances that would change this include demand, location, experience as well as many other factors.
How do you become a supreme court law clerk?
- First and foremost, you will need a bachelor’s degree in majors that are recommended by law schools such as political science or communications.
- Internships are important to consider as they can help you in the legal field as well as teach you skills that will surely apply to your future career while also making connections. You should, after all, do anything in your power to improve your resume since the position of supreme court law clerk is rather competitive.
- Attending law school is important for becoming a supreme court law clerk and getting a law degree since you may want to change your work later on to become a lawyer or judge.
- Being in the supreme court as a law clerk or more requires you to be at the top of your law school class so you should put a lot of effort.
What can raise the salary of a supreme court law clerk?
The pay that a supreme court law clerk gets per year does not include any bonuses, commissions, or profit sharing. So the only possible way to increase their salary is through working in other places and internships to gain experience.
Developing multiple skills will benefit a supreme court law clerk on the job. Such skills would include legal knowledge as well as organizational skills and better communication skills. Even research skills will help them as their work needs to understand and properly cite any documents requires. Communication skills require both spoken and written skills to that they are clear and precise in any form, especially when drafting legal documents. Expression is an important aspect of the communication skill to connect with the judge and with other colleagues.
Legal knowledge is important for the position compared with other administrative positions in the court system as they need to widen their knowledge of how the law works to support the judges they are employed to. Organizational skills require that a supreme court law clerk is organized well to keep cases going smoothly as well as keeping a system in check for paperwork and files to ensure that the judge is just as organized during the case.
What is the base pay for a supreme court law clerk?
As mentioned before, the United States average for a supreme court law clerk is 53,000 dollars per year. Although, there are some circumstances where the salary of a supreme court law clerk is as low as 10,500 dollars per year or as high as 275,000 dollars per year. Although sticking to the average of 53,000 dollars per year, the quality of life for a supreme court law clerk is not just as average. Since a supreme court law clerk takes home almost 4,000 dollars per month and renting an apartment with two bedrooms costs around 2,500 dollars, then a supreme court law clerk would take home 35% of their monthly payments only.
Which cities are supreme court law clerks offering better jobs in the United States?
Some cities offer better or worse pay than the United States average of 53,000 dollars per year. Starting with the lowest, Austin and Phoenix pay 6% and 3% less pay respectively than the United States average. Atlanta and Seattle offer a low percentage of 4% and 7% respectively whereas Denver and Chicago offer a higher percentage of 12% and 11% more than the United States average pay for supreme court law clerks.
Since supreme court law clerk in Austin earns 6% less than the average, their pay would be 50,500 dollars per year. Despite this, the quality of life in Austin for a supreme court law clerk is better as only 39% of their monthly salary of 3,600 dollars goes to apartment rental which costs 1,400 dollars per month in Austin. Although the worst-case scenario of taking care of a family of four would make things harder as the total cost of living would be 128.5% and they would have to take out money from their savings to afford a larger house or apartment.
In Seattle on the other hand, the salary would be almost 58,000 dollars a year and the quality of life would be much better. Since apartment rentals for two bedrooms cost 1,700 dollars per month, a supreme court law clerk would pay 41% of their monthly salary of 4,000 dollars. Although, the worst-case scenario of taking care of a family of four would mean that the cost of living is much higher, amounting to 137% for a home, and would still require withdrawing from their savings.
Supreme court law clerks living in Denver are paid 12% more than the United States average and paid 60,000 dollars per year. The pay is better as well as the rental price for apartments with two bedrooms as they only pay 1,350 dollars per month. A supreme court law clerk would pay 32% of their salary for rental. The worst-case scenario is not as bad as in other cities as only 110% is the total cost of living for families.
Conclusion
Now we’ve learnt about ‘Salaries For Supreme Court Law Clerk’, In conclusion, becoming a supreme court law clerk takes a lot of dedication and hard work in college and law schools before starting the job. The salary might not have a huge impact if you aspire to be a supreme court law clerk because of a strong sense of justice or some other reason. The quality of living may not be enough for families, it is better for a sole person or for couples.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How much is the salary of a supreme court law clerk?
The average is 53,000 dollars per month.
- Is it possible to earn a higher salary?
Only through experience and proper hard work during your time in law school.
- Which city is the best option for a supreme court law clerk?
Multiple cities offer better opportunities but Denver pays 12% more in pay than the national average.
