A Court Clerk Career Guide for Students & Grads

One of the most thrilling and satisfying career options for someone with a passion for a legal program, exploring or embarking on an education for legal assistant, is that of law clerk. Once you’ve graduated from your law clerk program/law clerk course, you’re ready to dive into the various opportunities that await.

Requiring a detail-oriented, sharp mind, an administrative team member who organizes and processes paperwork, and manages the courtroom, is key to justice. We thought having the overview and details of what it takes to contribute as a law clerk, could help you discern if this is the career path you’d like to travel down.

Court Clerk Job Description

As a court clerk you will perform administrative and support functions in courts of law, including calling the court to order, recording key details, maintaining exhibits and preparing court dockets. You could be an employee of the municipal, provincial or federal court.

Court Clerk Job Responsibilities

A variety of roles are required within this position, all that keep the justice system rolling forward.

• Call the court of law to order
• Read charges, take pleas from defendants, swear in witnesses
• Prepare required court documents and files, and care for court exhibits
• Record court proceedings including, dates, times, witness names, please and rulings
• Support jury selection by prepping documents and participating in selection process
• Update and maintain paper and electronic files and indexes taken by court based on court decisions
• Manage fines, fees, and other trust monies
• Communicate with lawyers, witnesses, and others pertaining to the case.

Skills Required

• Attentive to the Rules – you must be able to keenly observe court etiquette and have the ability to communicate clearly, respectively, precisely and professionally with judges, lawyers, parties and witnesses.
• Detail Oriented – As there are so many moving parts to be aware of and to attend to, you must thorough.
• Highly Organized – With the variety and extensive number of documents and files you are responsible for, you need to have a grasp on systems that allow you to be organized and able to respond with information at a moment’s notice.
• Excellent Written Communication Skills – You produce and are in charge of a number of key documents and therefore your writing must be meticulous, worthy of representing the law profession you are a part of.
• Technologically Adaptable – With the shift in the way courtrooms are run, it is a bonus if you are tech savvy and able to utilize it to improve efficiency. Applications such as video conferencing, recording devices and digital documenting.

The Training That Sets You Apart

Where you take your in-person or online law clerk course matters. You want to ensure that your studies include comprehensive, up-to-date course content, and that you receive your instruction from industry experts. Having a blend between theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on, real-world training is what will set you apart and ensure you are in demand by employers upon graduation. Learning from case studies, as well as real-life cases and attending court, will empower you to get a feel for where your passions lie and where you can best serve. And finally, you most assuredly want to select a program that prepares you for your Law Clerk exams.

At Anderson College our reputation for excellence in education, connection to industry leaders to give you a practicum that truly allows for practical training and networking with potential employers, sets our students up for success. And upon completion, within 52 weeks, you are ready to write one, or all, of the four provincial Law Clerk exams in Ontario: Litigation, Corporate Law, Real Estate, and Wills and Estates.
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If this guide to becoming a court clerk has spurred your imagination but you want to know about other exciting career options, you can tap our popular blog, What Jobs Can You Do with A Law Clerk Diploma?. Or if you’re still determining if this industry is for you, take the “Anderson College Legal Career Training Quiz”.

Ready to embark on that legal career? Explore Anderson’s Law Clerk program or book a virtual appointment with an Admission Advisor today. We’re hear to help you every step along the way.

Quick Links to Fuel Your Success!

We want to make sure you have what you need to succeed! Check out these reference links:

• Law Clerk Program & Courses at Anderson College
• What Jobs Can You Do with A Law Clerk Diploma? (andersoncollege.com)
• Anderson College (Legal Career Quiz)