Appellate Court Clerkships

Law Clerks at the Utah Appellate Courts

Clerkships at the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals are full-time positions generally for at least one year. The appellate judges hire their own clerks. Please see the information provided below for the details on applying for a clerkship in each chamber. The Law Clerk must have a JD degree, or equivalent, from an accredited law school before beginning employment and must agree to a criminal background check. Hiring decisions will take into account information learned from the background check, and such information may be grounds to rescind an offer or terminate employment​, in the sole discretion of the hiring judge. The current salary for law clerks is:

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Utah Supreme Court Clerkships

Please email applications to the individual justice's chambers email address according to the following instructions:

Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample (preferably 10-15 pages), and two or three letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters may be sent separately. Applications containing all of the materials listed must be emailed to durrantchambers@utcourts.gov.

Justice John A. Pearce

Clerkship positions are filled through July 2022. Justice Pearce is not accepting further applications for clerkships in August 2022-2023. Justice Pearce will be accepting applications for law clerk positions beginning August 2023 and ending August 2024 starting in October 2021.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample, and two or three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation may be sent separately. Applications containing all of the materials listed must be emailed to pearcechambers@utcourts.gov.

Justice Thomas R. Lee

Justice Lee has filled all his clerkship positions through the 2023-2024 term. He accepts applications for later terms on a rolling basis from applicants who have at least 2 semesters of grades.

He also accepts applications for internship positions on a rolling basis from students with at least 1 semester of grades.

Application requirements: resume, law school transcript, writing sample, and two or three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation may be sent separately. Applications containing all of the materials listed must be emailed to leechambers@utcourts.gov.

Justice Deno G. Himonas

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: resume, law school transcript, writing sample (10-15 pages), and two or three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation may be sent separately. Applications containing all of the materials listed must be emailed to himonaschambers@utcourts.gov.

Justice Paige Petersen

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample (preferably 10-15 pages), and two or three letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters may be sent separately. Applications containing all of the materials listed must be emailed to petersenchambers@utcourts.gov.

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Utah Court of Appeals Clerkships

Please email applications with the individual judge's name in the subject line to courtofappeals@utcourts.gov, according to the following instructions:

Judge Gregory K. Orme

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: resume, law school transcript, unedited writing sample, and three letters of recommendation.

Application deadline: Applications from law students are accepted during the second semester of second year for the two positions to be filled following their graduation. Law school graduates may apply during the same period.

Judge Michele M. Christiansen Forster

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: resume, law school transcript, and unedited writing sample.

Judge David N. Mortensen

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample (preferably 10-15 pages), and two or three letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters may be sent separately.

Judge Jill M. Pohlman

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, unedited writing sample, and references. Letters of recommendation are optional and may be sent separately.

Judge Ryan M. Harris

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, unedited writing sample, and two or three letters of recommendation (which may be sent separately). It is preferred that applicants send two versions of their cover letter and resume, one of which, to be used for initial review purposes, should have the applicant's name and law school redacted.

Judge Diana Hagen

No clerkships are presently available.

Application requirements: Cover letter, resume, law school transcript, unedited writing sample no longer than 10-15 pages, and references. Letters of recommendation are optional and may be sent separately.

Judge Ryan D. Tenney

Judge Ryan D. Tenney of the Utah Court of Appeals is accepting applications for two law clerk positions. One position will begin in August 2022, and the other will begin in January 2023.

Application requirements: Applicants should send an email with Judge Tenney’s name in the subject line to courtofappeals@utcourts.gov. The application should include a cover letter, a resume, a law school transcript, a writing sample (10-15 pages, unedited), and 2-3 references. In the cover letter, the applicant should indicate whether he or she is available to start in August 2022, January 2023, or both.

Application deadline: Applications should be submitted by September 15, 2021.

The Utah State Courts mission is to provide the people an open, fair, efficient, and independent system for the advancement of justice under the law.