Handbook for Students

All you need to know about how to apply and get a clerkship, including in tribal court

The NEW Tribal Court Guide to Judicial Clerkships is here! The topics in this Guide reflect the results of a survey of tribal court judges and staff across the country by the PLSI Judicial Clerkship Committee and National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA). 

The American Indian Law Center, Inc., is proud to participate in the American Bar Association’s Judicial Clerkship Program (JCP) sponsored by the ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and the ABA Judicial Division. Data shows that there is a correlation between clerking for a judge and later becoming a judge. Currently, there are only a handful of Native Americans serving as federal judges and fewer than two dozen Native state judges. We hope to increase those numbers.

After an ABA study found that there were relatively few minority clerks, the ABA established the JCP to encourage a more diverse group of attorneys to apply for judicial clerkships. The program is a joint effort of the ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and the ABA Judicial Division.

All PLSI alumni/ae who are law students are eligible to apply, and notifications of the requirements and deadlines are sent directly to those students by e-mail. If you are a PLSI alumnus/a and interested in participating, please be sure the PLSI staff have your current e-mail address.