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Boston Career Explorer

Legal

Judicial Law Clerks

Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.

Also called: Appellate Law Clerk, Career Judicial Law Clerk, Career Law Clerk, Judicial Assistant, Judicial Clerk, Judicial Law Clerk

Median pay in Greater Boston
$143,350
$68.92/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
380
Massachusetts 2024–2034
Not published
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Doctoral or professional degree

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$82,210$109,100$143,350$143,350$143,350

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
  • Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
  • Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
  • Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
  • Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
  • Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure89 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 99
  • Language-model AIOE 95
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 72

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure is higher for this job, and observed AI use is substantial. AI tools can help with reading and searching legal sources, summarizing filings, and drafting or proofreading documents. Talking through legal questions with a judge and using careful judgment on a case still depend on people.

Likely to change

  • Legal research and searching court decisions
  • First drafts and proofreading of opinions

Still relies on people

  • Conferring with judges on legal questions
  • Judgment about what a case needs

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

0 programs near Boston (plus 7 graduate)

No programs below a master’s degree near Boston map to this job. Tick the box above to see graduate programs.

Related occupations

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