Federal Judicial Extern Honors Program
Pace
The Program: The Honors Program is designed to provide participating students with an inside look at the federal judiciary and to prepare them to pursue a federal clerkship after law school. Numerous Honors Program students have gone on to obtain federal clerkships throughout the country.
The Honors Program is a full-year program, with distinct fall and spring semester components.
During the fall semester, the selected students are individually paired with faculty mentors who supervise them in a writing assignment designed to prepare them for the work of a judicial clerk or extern. Each student is given a case file containing actual motion papers from a federal district court case, and is asked to write a bench memo and/or opinion disposing of the motion. The faculty mentor works with the student throughout the process, providing detailed critiques of each draft.
In the subsequent spring semester, each student is placed in the chambers of a federal judge for a 12-hour-a-week externship. Back on campus, the students together attend a weekly seminar to complement the work that they are performing in chambers.
Participating Judges: We are very grateful to the judges who have participated in the Honors Program, including:
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United States Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.)
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United States Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker (2d Cir.)
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United States District Judge Deborah Batts (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Charles L. Brieant, Jr. (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Denny Chin (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Brian Cogan (E.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge William Conner (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Denise Cote (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Nina Gershon (E.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Janet Hall (D. Conn.)
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United States District Judge Barbara Jones (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Kenneth M. Karas (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Colleen McMahon (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Alan Nevas (D. Conn.)
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United States District Judge Stephen Robinson (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Richard Sullivan (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States Chief Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States Magistrate Judge Mark Fox (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States Magistrate Judge George Yanthis (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin (S.D.N.Y.)
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United States Court of International Trade Judge Delissa Ridgway
Faculty Involvement: The Honors Program is co-directed by Professor Emily Waldman and Adjunct Professor Joy Beane of the New York State Judicial Institute. The following professors serve as mentors in the program: Prof. Bridget Crawford, Prof. Don Doernberg, Prof. Shelby Green, Prof. Lissa Griffin, Prof. Jill Gross, Prof. Michael Mushlin, Prof. Ann Powers, and Prof. Darren Rosenblum.
Application Process: Admission to the Honors Program is highly competitive. First-year students whose grade point average places them in the top 15% of the class receive letters inviting them to apply to the program. (Part-time day or evening students are only invited to apply after their first year if they are transferring into the full-time program; otherwise, they will be invited to apply during their second year.) A faculty committee interviews all applicants. We base our ultimate selections on the applicants’ grades, writing samples, interviews, and interest in pursuing a clerkship after graduation.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Emily Waldman at (914) 422-4096 or ewaldman@law.pace.edu, or Adjunct Professor Joy Beane at (914) 824-5802 or by e-mail at jbeane@courts.state.ny.us.