What are the different positions of appellate legal staff?
Appellate staff positions are divided into four groups. First, clerks of court direct the offices where case-related documents are submitted, handled, and stored. Second, short-term, in-chambers law clerks work for and assist individual judges and stay in these positions for one to three years, shortly after graduating from law school. They might be called law clerks, judicial law clerks, and staff attorneys or research attorneys. Third, career in-chambers law clerks work for individual judges and stay in these positions for several years, although they might have started as short-term law clerks. They also might be called law clerks, judicial law clerks, and senior law clerks or research attorneys. Fourth, central staff attorneys work for the court or a panel of judges with the court. They might be called research attorneys, commissioners, writ clerks, offices of court counsel, pro se clerks, staff law clerks, or pool aides.
