Federal Judicial Clerkship (2 Years) (2026)

Full Job Description

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is ranked within the top 5 mid-size agencies through the Partnership for Public Service's Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings!

This Law Clerk position is located in the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ).

For more information visit: Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) To view the eligibility and qualification requirements of a Law Clerk , GS-0904, please visit: Law Clerks, 0904 You must meet the following basic requirements, by the end of the Spring semester 2026: (1) hold a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from an accredited college or university.

It is highly preferable for candidates to have taken the bar exam prior to commencing their clerkships.

Appointees commencing work prior to passing the bar exam are designated as a "Law Clerk" – a designation that cannot under any circumstances exceed 14 months and cannot be extended.

This means that the appointee must pass the bar exam before the 14-month period ends.

Once admitted to the bar of any state, the appointee's designation is converted to "Attorney Advisor." The FERC law clerk position requires a firm two-year commitment.

Upon commencement of this term, the law clerk must have obtained a juris doctorate degree, and within 14-months, must pass the bar of a state, federal district, or bar for which license holders may practice before the federal government.

This field is highly technical and requires substantial training to achieve competence.

Once achieved through the clerk program, however, this competence often affords OALJ clerks highly coveted and otherwise unavailable employment opportunities.

Clerks may interview for other employment after twenty-two (22) months.

Recent clerks have quickly gone-on to other clerking opportunities, litigation and general counsel positions within FERC, in policy or nonprofit roles, and to law firms of all sizes.

Outstanding organizational, critical analysis, and legal writing skills are all essential for our law clerks.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Please do not cut and paste the position description, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Major Duties:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has two immediate vacancies and anticipates multiple law clerk vacancies in the Fall of 2026.

The FERC Law Clerk position requires a firm two-year commitment. Law clerks serve for two-year terms, and are assigned to 1-2 judges, depending on office needs.

Although each judge's needs may vary, the law clerk will often work closely with the assigned judge in drafting orders and decisions on complex issues in energy law, among many other matters.

While clerks work with judges on foundational energy law questions, the vibrant field of energy regulation also requires clerks to gain familiarity with legal questions of all sorts, such as administrative, environmental, corporate, corporate finance, contract, tort, tax, securities, antitrust, evidence, and much more.

Law clerks will often independently conduct legal and factual research, advise the judge verbally and in-person, and prepare draft decisions, orders, or memos for the judge's review.

To provide this assistance, the law clerks will sometimes work with energy industry analysts and other in-house experts to gain technical knowledge.

Law clerks will also have the opportunity to sit in, and assist with, trials, oral arguments and mediations, and act as the judge's primary communicator with participants.

As a Law Clerk, some of your typical work assignments may include: Analyzes data, information and legal argument to understand and evaluate competing views, help plan strategies, help create constructive solutions to aid the administrative law judge in reaching a reasoned decision.

Presents and explains concepts and information in writing, supports conclusions with legal authority.

Presents and explains concepts and information orally, supports conclusions with logic, policy, and legal authorities.

Addresses inquiries from internal and external customers on OALJ activities of all levels of complexity and either responds to the request or directs customer to the appropriate staff or external entities where the matter can be addressed more appropriately in another forum.

Works independently or with others to plan and complete assignments, simultaneously handles multiple assignments, anticipates workload and plans accordingly, and may direct others or receive direction in a team setting.