| Foreign Clerkships with the Supreme Court of Israel | ||||
 Overview
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| Unlike many common law systems that have a long, rich, and plentiful jurisprudence from which to draw upon, the State of Israel, a relatively young country, has a comparatively small body of jurisprudence. Thus, the Israeli Supreme Court often looks to American and Commonwealth precedent, as well as European countries, for inspiration in rendering its decisions. As a result, Justices of the Israeli Supreme Court solicit individuals trained in the American and Commonwealth legal tradition, as well as European traditions, to work as Foreign Clerks.
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Foreign Law Clerk Duties | ||||
| Pending cases that are grounded in Israeli law often require a comparative law analysis. Foreign Clerks are assigned to a specific Justice for the duration of their clerkship. They conduct legal research and draft memoranda regarding specific legal questions that pertain to pending cases, providing the Court with substantive support for legal decisions it renders. Research and memoranda provided by the Foreign Clerk will, where applicable, be taken into consideration in opinions rendered by the Court.
During their clerkship, Foreign Clerks will likely find themselves working in several different areas of the law, such as public international law, criminal law, civil procedure, tort law, constitutional law, corporate law and contract law. Foreign Clerks are all provided with access to Lexis and to the Supreme Court library, which has a wealth of comparative legal materials including Federal and State statutory codes, reporters, legal digests, and treatises. | ||||
| Compensation | ||||
| Due to budgetary constraints, the Court is unable to provide a salary for the position (apart from a nominal daily commuting allowance). However, former Foreign Clerks have often received funding from their law schools’ public interest law associations, as well as from Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Federation and from nationally-recognized fellowships such as Fulbright or Dorot. Finally, some Foreign Clerks have also received a clerkship bonus from law firms upon their return to the United States. | ||||
| How to Apply | ||||
| The application process is competitive. Although no single factor is decisive, Justices of the Court normally accept top students and graduates as Foreign Clerks. Please note that there is a clear preference to candidates who finished their 2nd year of law school (at least).
Foreign Clerks are accepted on a rolling basis and are typically asked to commit
a minimum of three months.
To apply for a position as a Foreign Clerk please send a (1) cover letter indicating the period during which you would like to work at the Court, (2) resume, (3) law school transcript, (4) writing sample, and (5) two letters of recommendation, preferably at least one from a law school professor. Applications should be sent by e-mail to
jobs@court.gov.il and will be distributed to the chambers of all justices at the Court. | ||||
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