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New Bill Proposes Congressional Clerkships for Law Grads

By George Khoury, Esq. on July 26, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The new Senate Bill 1604, introduced in the Senate by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, seeks to inspire the best and brightest of the freshly graduated legal scholars to pursue jobs in politics. The Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Act, introduced as a bill on July 20, 2017, seeks to create a new way for lawyers to learn about the legislative process through apprentice-like clerkships.

According to the press release from Senator Mike Lee from Utah, the bill's goal is to "better position congress to obtain top-notch services from stellar law school graduates," while giving the grads "a much better understanding of the legislative process."

Details Please?

As of yet, the full text of the bill has not been released, so there are no indication as to whether there will be a handful of clerkships awarded national, or if each senator, or state, will receive a certain number, or if this will award just one single student with the honor. Additionally, there is no mention as to whether these will be paid or unpaid, or if the clerks will have to pay for the privilege.

Suffice it to say, law students and recent grads shouldn't be holding their breath for one of these highly coveted clerkships. Even if a vast majority of the clerkships don't go to the children of donors, friends, or other politicians, it still wouldn't likely make much of a difference in the still depressed legal market.

Who's Daniel Webster Anyway?

Daniel Webster was an important American politician and attorney from the Northeast during the first half of the 19th century. He spent three decades in office as a member of the House and Senate, and even served as the Secretary of State for two different administrations.

Before embarking on his political career, Webster argued some of the most famous cases in U.S. history before the Supreme Court, including Gibbons v. Ogden, Cohens v. Virginia, and McCullough v. Maryland.

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