PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON DIVERSITY IN THE PROFESSION

As a student at Cornell Law School, Mauricio Gonzalez didn’t just envision starting a job with a large law firm right after graduation, he was planning on it. After all, he had a family to support, including a young daughter just starting school, and huge student loans to pay. So, when a professor who serves on Cornell’s clerkship committee mentioned the ABA’s Judicial Clerkship Program to him and encouraged him to apply, it was understandable that Mauricio was disinterested. He felt that he needed to begin earning an income and he did not want to have to uproot his family any more than was absolutely necessary. A judicial clerkship was not what he or his family needed or wanted. Or so he thought.

Fortunately for Mauricio, unlike many other minority law students, he had the benefit of advice from several professors who urged him not to dismiss the idea of a clerkship so quickly. They explained to him that not every law student can become a judicial law clerk and that a clerkship would lend him a degree of prestige and stature that distinguishes a lawyer throughout his or her career. A clerkship, they explained, would open the doors of opportunity for a recent graduate, and might result in a lifelong mentoring relationship with a judge.

With that in mind, Mauricio decided to apply to be part of the Cornell delegation participating in the ABA Judicial Clerkship Program at the 2002 Midyear Meeting in Philadelphia. For Mauricio, the two-and-a-half day program’s panels, group discussions, and social events gave him the opportunity to meet judges and other minority law students from across the country. In an informal setting, they talked and shared their views on clerkships and the profession of law. Since Mauricio did not grow up around any lawyers or judges, these discussions were a unique opportunity, demystifying the judicial system and legal profession for Mauricio in a way that attending law school itself had never done. It enabled him to gain a newfound understanding of the love and respect that judges have for the law, as well as the clerks that assist them. Mauricio recalls one judge whose comments articulated for him how fair-minded judges must be and how much they rely upon, respect, and mentor their clerks. It gave Mauricio insights into judges and their decision-making processes—something he would never have been privy to if he had not attended the ABA Judicial Clerkship Program.

Indeed, Mauricio was so inspired by his experience in the Judicial Clerkship Program that, upon his return to Cornell, he began the process of applying for clerkships immediately. As a third year law student, he was concerned that he might be too late applying. He had heard that some judges had hired their clerks back in August of the previous year and that few clerkships might remain open. But now that he understood what a clerkship was all about, Mauricio was not about to let that stop him. He acted quickly and raced against the clock to send his resume out to as many judges as he could, hoping desperately that he could still secure a clerkship and pursue his new passion.

That passion and persistence paid off. Mauricio’s enthusiasm and determination eventually resulted in his securing a position with Judge Kermit E. Bye on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals where he is now in the first year of his clerkship. According to Mauricio, he has already learned much, including his responsibility to Judge Bye and his cases, the knowledge and team attitude of his colleagues, and the impact that this clerkship will have on his career. Moreover, Mauricio is enjoying his clerkship more than he ever imagined. He has an offer of employment waiting for him with a firm in California and he feels confident knowing that his career is off to a great start.

“If it weren’t for the ABA’s Judicial Clerkship Program,” says Mauricio, “I would never have pursued this clerkship opportunity. I’ll be grateful forever!”
Exerpted from 2004 Goal IX Report