 
 




The Harrisburg Career Development Office conducted a workshop on OSCAR, the federal judicial clerkship database, on Thursday, April 12th. The OSCAR database includes law clerk positions for most federal judges including circuit, district, and bankruptcy court judges and magistrate judges. It does not include Supreme Court Justices. The OSCAR application process is done solely online. Career Development director Karen Durkin explained that it was a four-step process starting with uploading relevant documents such as your cover letter, resume, grade sheets, and writing sample. Next, the student must identify those who will be giving recommendations. For each law school participating in the OSCAR program, there will be a list of the school’s faculty recommenders that will be uploaded by the law school administrator. The third step in the application process is to research and manage the positions for which the student intends to apply. The final step is to submit the application.Additionally, Ms. Durkin reminded students that they should start asking professors for letters of recommendations now because they will need to provide them with information and a considerable amount of time since finals are approaching. She recommended that students provide professors with a current resume, a list of all judges to whom the letter will be sent, and any relevant time line formation such as deadlines and other information that does not appear on the resume that might be helpful when writing the recommendation. The critical dates for the OSCAR program are September 4th, 2012, which is the first date when applications may be received from third year applicants. September 7, 2012 is the first date and time when judges may contract third year applicants to schedule interviews. And September 13, 2012 is the first day and time to interview and make offers. For more information, contact Karen Durkin in the CDO office or the OSCAR program office at Oscar-support@ao.uscourts.gov.