Prevailing Wage for Judicial Law Clerks
Prevailing wage for Judicial Law Clerks is set by DOL using regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys, giving career law clerks and appellate law clerks a city-specific wage floor rather than a single national figure. DOL assigns four experience levels, so the floor an employer must meet shifts both by location and by how the position is classified.
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Level 1 covers entry-level clerks with limited experience, typically recent law graduates in their first clerkship term. Work is closely supervised, follows established court procedures, and involves learning rather than independent legal analysis or document drafting.
Level 2 applies to qualified clerks with some demonstrated experience handling research and legal drafting with moderate supervision. This is the most common filing level for Judicial Law Clerks, reflecting the post-JD-with-some-practice profile most applicants bring.
Level 3 covers experienced clerks who work with substantial independence, often handling complex legal research, drafting opinions, or supporting appellate proceedings. These professionals typically bring several years of prior clerkship or law practice experience.
Level 4 applies to fully competent senior clerks with broad expertise, often in career or supervisory positions. They exercise independent judgment across complex matters, may mentor junior clerks, and require minimal oversight from the presiding judge.
Prevailing Wage for Judicial Law Clerks by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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Confirm your title maps to SOC 23-1012
Titles like Judicial Assistant or Career Law Clerk are common aliases for this occupation. If an employer files your LCA under a different SOC, the prevailing wage floor changes. Verify the SOC code on your LCA before signing any offer.
Watch the gap between top and low-paying courts
Federal and state courts in the Northeast, particularly in Connecticut and New York, post significantly higher prevailing wages for this occupation than courts in the Midwest. A clerkship offer in Pittsburgh operates under a much lower wage floor than one in Hartford.
Expect Level 2 but verify the actual classification
Most sponsored clerkship positions are filed at Level 2, matching the typical post-JD profile with limited prior experience. If your offer reflects a Level 1 wage despite prior legal experience, ask the employer to confirm how they classified the role with DOL.
Find sponsors using Migrate Mate employer history
Courts and legal offices that have sponsored judicial clerks before are visible through Migrate Mate's employer sponsorship history. Filtering by this occupation shows which specific employers have filed H-1B or green card petitions for law clerk roles previously.
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Find Jobs for Judicial Law ClerksPrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 23-1012.00 alongside Judicial Law Clerks, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Appellate Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Appellate Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Appellate Law Clerk positions fall under SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Career Judicial Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Career Judicial Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Career Judicial Law Clerk for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Career Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Career Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Career Law Clerk is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Judicial Assistant Prevailing Wage
Judicial Assistant Prevailing Wage
Judicial Assistant positions fall under SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Judicial Clerk Prevailing Wage
Judicial Clerk Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Judicial Clerk for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Law Clerk is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Law Researcher Prevailing Wage
Law Researcher Prevailing Wage
Law Researcher positions fall under SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Pro Se Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Pro Se Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Pro Se Law Clerk for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Term Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Term Law Clerk Prevailing Wage
Term Law Clerk is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 23-1012.00 (Judicial Law Clerks). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Judicial Law Clerks?
DOL derives prevailing wages for Judicial Law Clerks from Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. OFLC converts those survey results into four wage levels tied to experience and responsibility. The employer must certify on the Labor Condition Application that the offered wage meets or exceeds the applicable level for the specific worksite location.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which applies to me?
Level 1 covers entry-level clerks under close supervision, Level 2 qualified clerks with moderate independence, Level 3 experienced clerks with substantial autonomy, and Level 4 fully competent senior or career clerks. Your level is determined by the scope of duties in the LCA, not your title. Review the employer's LCA filing through the OFLC public disclosure database to confirm the classification matches your actual responsibilities.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same law clerk role vary so much by city?
DOL calculates prevailing wages from regional OES surveys, so the wage floor reflects local labor market conditions rather than a national average. Courts and legal employers in high-cost metros like San Francisco or Hartford report higher wages in those surveys, raising the floor. Under the worksite-on-LCA rule, what matters is where you physically work, not where the employer is headquartered. A position in Omaha carries a meaningfully lower floor than the same title in Bridgeport.
What happens if a sponsored offer comes in below the prevailing wage?
An employer sponsoring a Judicial Law Clerk on an H-1B or PERM-based green card must certify to DOL and USCIS that the offered wage meets the prevailing wage for the applicable level and worksite. If the offer falls short, USCIS can deny the petition or DOL can reject the LCA. The employer bears the compliance obligation, but a below-floor offer is a warning sign worth raising before the petition is filed.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific U.S. location?
The OFLC Wage Search tool allows you to look up the current DOL prevailing wage for SOC 23-1012 by metro area and wage level. Enter the occupation code and the worksite's metropolitan statistical area to see the four-level wage grid. Migrate Mate also surfaces employer-level sponsorship history for law clerk roles, helping you identify which courts and legal offices have sponsored the occupation and in which cities.
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