Occupation salary profile

Judicial Law Clerks

SOC 23-1012 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents. Excludes “Lawyers” (23-1011) and “Paralegals and Legal Assistants” (23-2011).

National median · BLS
$64,920
▲ +7.48% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$68,640
▲ +10.29% YoY · 327 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$72,950
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
13,290
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Judicial Law Clerks

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 327 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$46,180$52,025
25th$52,870$56,526
Median (50th)$64,920$68,640
75th$80,420$84,822
90th — top pay$113,140$219,000
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $68,640 for Judicial Law Clerks — 5.7% above the BLS national median of $64,920.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Judicial Law Clerks

BLS projects employment of judicial law clerks to grow 2.8% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 1,500 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
14,000 → 14,400
+400 jobs
Projected change
+2.8%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
1,500
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
No related experience required
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a doctoral or professional degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $68,640
Change vs prior year +10.29%
After inflation (CPI-U) +6.94%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 111 33.9% $52,042 $55,000 $66,560
Level II 88 26.9% $60,000 $64,906 $70,000
Level III 50 15.3% $69,597 $72,800 $79,750
Level IV 76 23.2% $84,723 $135,000 $225,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Judicial Law Clerks

The 2 most-filed job titles inside SOC 23-1012, from 327 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Law Clerk 239 73.09% $58,640 $69,200 $84,911 +11.19%
Legal Consultant 14 4.28% $57,604 $64,802 $72,488 +5.5%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Judicial Law Clerks

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Reading Comprehension4.5
  • Active Listening4.3
  • Critical Thinking4.3
  • Writing4.1
  • Speaking4.0
  • Active Learning3.8
  • Complex Problem Solving3.5
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Time Management3.3
  • Coordination3.0
Top knowledge areas
  • Law and Government4.9
  • English Language4.5
  • Administrative3.5
  • Computers and Electronics2.9
  • Public Safety and Security2.7
  • Administration and Management2.3
  • Communications and Media2.2
  • Customer and Personal Service2.0
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookThomson Reuters WestlawAdobe AcrobatMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft WordAderant CompuLawAdvanced Technologies Class ActAmerican Legalnet eDocketsAmerican Legalnet Smart DocketsCanyon Solutions JcatsCompugov DocketViewCorel WordPerfect Office SuiteInfocom JACSJustice Systems FullCourt Enterprise

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What judicial law clerks do

  • Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
  • Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
  • Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
  • Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
  • Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
  • Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
  • Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
  • Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress.
Also called
Judicial AssistantJudicial ClerkJudicial Law ClerkLaw ClerkAppellate Law ClerkCareer Judicial Law ClerkCareer Law ClerkLaw ResearcherPro Se Law ClerkTerm Law Clerk
More job titles for this occupation (17)
Attorney Law ClerkChancery ClerkCourt of Appeals Law ClerkDistrict ClerkDistrict Court Law ClerkFamily Law AssociateFederal Appellate ClerkFederal Appellate Law ClerkFederal Court of Appeals Law ClerkFederal District ClerkFederal District Law ClerkFederal Judicial Law ClerkFederal Law ClerkLaw AssociateLaw Firm ConsultantLegal ClerkState Appellate Clerk

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.