Many of our Tulane Law students are interested in working as post-graduate judicial law clerks, either in state or federal court. However, not as many are aware of the opportunities with Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), officials within federal or state agencies who preside over administrative hearings to resolve disputes between the federal government and other parties. ALJs hire law clerks to assist in their case management, just as federal and state court judges do. Finding these positions can be a tricky process, as there is no uniform hiring process across the various agencies.
To assist our students in learning about ALJs, what they do, and how to find positions within these agencies, the CDO invited
Judge Lee L. Romero, Jr., an ALJ at the
US Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Administrative Law Judges to speak about his duties and experiences and about the Department of Labor’s hiring process. Judge Romero sits in the DOL’s Covington, LA branch, about 30 minutes across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans. His office annually recruits Tulane Law students and graduates to apply for clerkship openings within the agency. One of our recent graduates, Gillian Gurley (’11) is currently serving as a law clerk for Judge Patrick Rosenow in the same office, so we invited Gillian to share her experiences as well. Judge Romero discussed the types of cases heard by the ALJs in the Department of Labor. He also mentioned that interest and experience in admiralty/maritime law would be a huge advantage, given the DOL’s large docket of Longshoremen’s disputes. Gillian served as President of
Maritime Law Society while a student at Tulane and received the
certificate in Maritime Law at graduation, making her an ideal candidate for this position.
Judge Romero mentioned that the DOL would again be hiring externs for the summer and law clerks for Fall 2012 and encouraged the students to apply. Attendees were given the chance to ask questions about what the ALJs look for in an applicant, which was valuable for any student planning to submit an application. Thanks to Judge Romero and Gillian for their participation in this program!