Careers

The M. Catherine Richardson 1L Clerkship Program

Bond, Schoeneck & King offers the M. Catherine Richardson 1L Clerkship Program, open to 1L law student applicants in good standing attending ABA-accredited law schools. The purpose of this program is to provide meaningful law firm experience to aspiring first-year law students whose backgrounds and life experiences bring a needed, particularly unique perspective and/or skill set to the legal profession. Merely by way of example, a first-year student who brings uncommon cultural fluency, has had military or other significant public service experience, is from underprivileged family circumstances or overcame other barriers, has been deeply involved in charitable or community causes, has worked to create diverse, inclusive and equitable spaces or has achieved uncommon success or recognition in a particular field may bring the kind of unique personal background this clerkship is intended to champion.

The clerkship runs for ten to twelve weeks. At least one applicant will be selected for each summer. It is anticipated that the clerkship will require approximately 40 hours per week. This is a paid position. 

Office location(s) hiring for the 2024 program include: Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, NY.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must be a full-time student in good standing in their first year of law school at an ABA-accredited law school.
• The applicant must have demonstrated solid academic performance, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, leadership, and community engagement.
• The applicant should have background and experiences that advance diversity in the legal profession or other professions.
• Ability to articulate how the applicant brings a particularly unique perspective and/or skill set to the legal profession, as well as to the firm, as a result of cultural fluency, resilience, service, and life experiences.

Application Details

• The 2024 M. Catherine Richardson 1L Clerkship Program is now accepting applications until January 29, 2024.

1. Students must formally apply through our applicant tracking system to be considered.
2. Applications will not be reviewed until after the deadline. There is no benefit to applying early.  

• If you have any questions about the program or having trouble submitting an application, please contact Bond’s Recruiting Coordinator, Jesse Tenorio, at jtenorio@bsk.com.  

Required Application Materials:

• Official first-year law school transcript (which may be only the fall semester). If applicant’s grades are not available by the deadline, they may be submitted later.
• Current resume (which must include undergraduate GPA or class standing).
• A typed personal statement of 1,000 words or less. The statement should include an explanation of all of the following:

1. the student’s professional aspirations as a lawyer;
2. a discussion of how the applicant brings a particularly unique perspective and/or skill set to the legal profession as a result of cultural fluency, resilience, service and/or life experience; and
3. the office location(s) of interest as well as a discussion of any connection to the geographic area(s), if any.  

Selection Criteria

Bond will review applications, conduct interviews, and select the successful applicant. In addition to personal background and experiences, academic performance, and community involvement, an important factor on which selection decisions will be based, is the student’s interest in working at Bond. Immediate family or household members of Bond, Schoeneck & King members and employees are ineligible. Please note that the student will be responsible for providing their own lodging for the duration of the clerkship.

About Bond

Bond is a firm of 285 attorneys serving private and public sector clients and individuals in a broad range of practice areas. Bond has offices across New York State, including New York City, White Plains, Garden City and Melville; Naples and West Palm Beach, Florida; Red Bank, New Jersey and Kansas City. We represent clients from across the nation in a variety of practice areas including employee benefits, intellectual property, labor, higher education, business, litigation, and NCAA compliance.

Future Employment with Bond

The M. Catherine Richardson 1L Clerkship Program is entirely separate and apart from Bond’s 2L summer law clerk hiring process. A student selected for the program is not guaranteed future employment with Bond, Schoeneck & King, nor employment with us as a 2L summer clerk. However, one of our goals is to become acquainted with eligible law students who may be interested in applying for our 2L summer clerk program or employment with us after graduation. Therefore, we encourage clerkship applicants, whether selected for the M. Catherine Richardson 1L Clerkship or not, to apply for our 2L summer clerk program. Please be advised that our 2L summer clerk program has a separate application process. An application for the M. Catherine Richardson 1L Clerkship Program is not considered an application for our 2L summer clerk program or any other employment with Bond, Schoeneck & King.

Firm Diversity Statement

At Bond, we believe diversity within our ranks makes us better lawyers and a stronger law firm. We proudly value our racial, ethnic, cultural, social, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious and other personal differences. We are committed to the promotion of greater diversity throughout our communities and the legal profession. We demonstrate this commitment not only by seeking qualified candidates from across the nation's law schools, but also by supporting various diversity initiatives in the communities where we practice.