More Reviews of Behind the Bench

“[T]he wonderful Debra Strauss . . . is without question America’s judicial clerkship maven. She has a new book coming out on judicial clerkships, called Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships, and if you’re going to be doing a clerkship (or you’re thinking about looking for one!) I strongly urge you to read it. Debra not only conducts seminars around the country about judicial clerkships, but she’s a former federal judicial clerk herself. If there’s anything to know about judicial clerkships, she knows it!”

– in What Law School Doesn't Teach You... But You Really Need To Know! 431-432 (Harcourt Legal & Professional Publications, Inc. 2000

"Highly Recommended: . . .This is a wonderfully written and fairly comprehensive resource for students who are beginning their judicial clerkship exploration. The author is a national judicial clerkship guru. Her book includes information on the value of a clerkship, the keys to success in finding a clerkship, an overview of the courts and clerkship opportunities, the nuts and bolts of the application and interview process, and suggested resources and tools for your search. . ."

"A recently published book, Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships, by Debra M. Strauss, an adjunct professor of law and co-director of the Federal Judicial Extern Honors Program at Pace University School of Law, gives students and law graduates significant guidance in how to negotiate the process of applying for a clerkship." See Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith, "Hiring Law Clerks," Federal Bar Council Newsletter, Vol. IX, No. 5, p. 17, Dec. 2002.

"Excellent! I can only recommend it to those trying for clerkships. There are a few chapters I wish some people looking for clerkships would read in detail -- such as which court and judge should an applicant look to work. Often people come here wishing to be in state court or criminal court. Good work."

"In all honesty, I was a very long shot to get a federal clerkship. Yesterday, my first-choice judge called and offered me a position. It's district level, which I wanted because I want to be a trial attorney. I couldn't be happier. My school's CSO office was completely worthless in this endeavor. In fact, my CSO advisor specifically told me that I shouldn't apply for federal clerkships, as she considered me unqualified. (Perhaps I'll thank her on Monday for the extra motivation that her "advice" provided.) The only real advice I ever had throughout the entire process was your book and this forum. And practically everything I did to get this clerkship was "by the book." What a fantastic source of information. There's no way I could have gotten my clerkship without it.
Thank you VERY much."

"First, let me say--THANK YOU FOR BTB! I purchased it 1/2 way through the initial application stages, 'adjusted fire' (as we say in the military) on a few issues, and just accepted an offer from a federal district judge. . . I can't wait to start my clerkship. . . I attribute BTB for correcting more than a few mistakes BEFORE I committed them. Thank you for your book! Anyone who reads it will believe the same. . ."