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August 14, 2025
Lessons from Clerkship: Start One Step Ahead in Court with These Tips
By Maya Ravindran and Sapir C. Shoshan
This past year, we had the privilege of working as federal judicial law clerks. Throughout our clerkships, we quickly learned each judge’s preferences and became acutely aware of attorneys who failed to adhere to those preferences. While discussions of these preferences were frequent within chambers and the courthouse, they rarely made their way outside these four walls to attorneys. As former clerks, it is incumbent on us to share these tricks and trades with our fellow associates. Our role as an associate is to be the master of the details. While adhering to a court’s preferences may appear small in accomplishing this goal, our clerkships showed us that this can go a very long way in helping to place our clients in a favorable light, before the court even reaches the merits of our arguments.
One way we, as associates, can put our best foot forward for our clients is by making sure we read the court’s scheduling order in its entirety. It is no surprise that courts often submit template scheduling orders for each case. But if we just assume that each order is the standard order, we may miss small yet critical details. A court will make changes to its template orders to cater to the specific needs of a case. It is on us, as associates, to recognize these changes. For example, while most courts will allow a Monday filing for a deadline that falls on the weekend, other courts have specified that the preceding Friday is the deadline. Other scheduling orders may note a court’s request to receive an email copy of each filing or a paper copy of pleadings over 25 pages. While these small details are not pertinent to the trajectory of a case, as associates, we want to show the partners, our clients, the law clerks, and the judges that we do pay attention to detail. We can easily demonstrate this attribute by making sure we do not skim a court’s order but read it in its entirety, and keep our team apprised of these details.
Another way we can excel as an associate is by respecting the court’s handling of the case. While there will undoubtedly be times when a court handles something differently than we would like, or differently than we are used to, nine times out of 10, the court has autonomy and discretion to make these decisions. Nothing frustrates the court more than an attorney who challenges its discretion or an attorney who assumes something will be handled a certain way without asking the court for clarification on its preference. It is easy to make assumptions, especially as we gain experience, but as associates, we should make sure that we are asking the right questions to uncover the court’s preferences and remind our team members to respect these decisions to avoid a distaste for our client on the other end. This can extend beyond just court appearances or hearings. We can also uncover the court’s preferences for drafting and adhere to those preferences. Whether it is how we structure the case caption or the font we use, the court has its preferences for a reason. We do not want to start a peg below our adversaries because we did not take the time to learn or adhere to those likings.
Citations are also critical in keeping a court happy. As the attorney, you should provide the court with everything it needs to evaluate the issues before it; you do not want to make the court do your work for you. If you have a citation, make sure it has a pincite. If you have a quote, make sure the quote is accurate and can be found at the cited page. Finally, if you are citing a source that is difficult to find, provide it to the court so it does not have to dig. The easier you make the court’s life, the better things will go for your client.
Finally, as associates, we need to make sure we proofread our filings. While this sounds obvious, you would be astonished by how many briefs come through a chamber’s door with blatant typos, mistakes, internal comments, intake, or the like. A brief that is well-structured, clean, and typo-less will automatically be favored by a court regardless of its substance. Always remember that although you, as the attorney, might be an expert in the matter you are drafting on, the court reading your brief will not have the same deep understanding of the case that you do. Clear writing that explains the facts and the law in a step-by-step manner is key.
Attorneys are busy, so mistakes happen. We all understand that, but these mistakes are easily avoidable. An extra set of eyes, a quick read through for typos, a check for pincites, a re-reading of an order—these things will go a long way, and the courts will appreciate it. If you plan to practice in federal court and want a judge, or their clerk for that matter, to think highly of your work, start by considering these few tips, and you will already be one step ahead of most. The court will appreciate it, and most importantly, so will your client.
Maya Ravindran and Sapir Shoshan are both third-year associates in McGuireWoods LLP’s Richmond office. Both Ravindran and Shoshan went to the University of Richmond School of Law and pursued federal clerkships after graduating.
Ravindran, upon graduation, clerked for United States Magistrate Judge Joel C. Hoppe from 2022 to 2023 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Afterward, she clerked for the Honorable Robert B. King in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2023 to 2024. She then began at McGuireWoods LLP, where she was a summer associate, focusing her practice on government investigations and white collar litigation.
Shoshan clerked for United States Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight from 2022 to 2024 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Following her clerkship, she returned to McGuireWoods LLP, where she interned as a summer associate and worked as a first-year associate for eight months before her clerkship, focusing her practice on product liability and mass tort litigation.
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