4 April 2025
Clerking Abroad: A Guide to Succeeding as an International Law Clerk in U.S. Law Firms
Stepping into a law firm as a law clerk is an exciting and challenging experience for any law student, and especially for international students. For international law clerks, particularly those who pursued legal education in the States, but come from a different academic and cultural background, working at a U.S. law firm presents both common law student experiences and also unique insights and challenges. This article explores key takeaways for international law clerks navigating the U.S. legal system from the perspective of Weltman Law Clerk Keying (Chloe) Chu from China.
As an international student who came to the States for law school, I joined Weltman a year ago in my 2L summer. One of the most valuable aspects of clerking at Weltman has been the firm’s investment in my development. As a high-volume law firm, Weltman did not require me to do substantial legal work in the beginning, but focused on my obtaining a working knowledge of the law firm’s business operations and practice. Our first few assignments were reading and summarizing reports from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and their regulations, as well as learning about relevant case laws in the debt collection industry. These assignments were for the purpose of educating law clerks to help them better understand the particular area of law that Weltman is working in. The summary work of the latest changes in CFPB and new reports are ongoing assignments. I learned a lot from them, and because it has been continuous, I get to see the trend of the policy and the social reason behind it.
Even without a legal background in my home country, I am aware that there are significant disparities in debt collection rules in other civil law systems and in the States under statutory and case law, as well as the CFPB rule. However, I would not say this is the ideal time for international students’ critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to actively analyze, question, and evaluate information, ideas, or arguments—while considering different cultural, linguistic, and academic perspectives. What I mean is that this is not a good time to compare the debt collection rule from your home country with the CFPB rule or even to be critical, because the core mission at this point is to quickly learn the CFPB rule that you will need to work with in your internship. Without a legal background in their home country, it can be a challenge for international law students when they are learning new things in law school and in a law clerk program. From my perspective, it is not necessarily a con being a “completely blank canvas”, but it can even be helpful to learn and gain knowledge and skills when the U.S. legal system is something completely different for you. International students should embrace their diversified background as an advantage; do not make it an obstacle on your way to learning new regulations.
Once I was assigned to work for Weltman attorneys on active cases, it was not just pure research assignments, but a part of the learning process of how litigation works. We communicate in different ways - in person, phone calls, and video meetings and I learned a lot while communicating with attorneys on specific cases. This is the time when I believe critical thinking could be helpful. This stage happens after you take the basic framework of the law you need to apply. International students that have been trained in different countries and different areas could see things from different perspectives. This is a wonderful time to discuss your opinions with the attorneys. Sometimes you don’t even know which idea can inspire the attorneys. Basically, when learning the law and its application process, you can think in critical ways to help the attorneys see things in a new way too. Weltman created a collaborative environment where I can ask questions and share my thoughts and engage in discussions with the attorneys. I do appreciate their openness to questions and discussions, making learning a continuous process. They would point out the difference between real life examples of legal work and what we learned from law school, in which I can learn precious lessons. The attorneys also take law clerks’ opinions seriously, which gives us a sense of engagement and makes us feel encouraged.
We are not just doing paperwork - the attorneys were willing to teach and take us to the court for a hearing, to meet with clients, or to other practical events. Those are the fun parts, and where the biggest difference from law school learning would lie. They are more meaningful for international students to adapt to this completely different legal system.
Beyond legal work, Weltman is committed to inclusion and diversity across the organization. As a minority international student, I don’t feel alienated or special in our office, I am included as a part of the team. Weltman’s inclusive and diverse workplace regarding race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, and marital or veteran status, brings out the best in the employees, the firm, and the community as a whole. We regularly receive emails celebrating different cultures like Black History Month and Women’s History Month for example. This January I was glad to see the celebration of Lunar New Year and it was on the T.V. screens of the building in both English and Chinese, which gave me a sense of belonging.
The best advice I can provide to international law students who are looking to clerk in a U.S. law firm would be to focus on the firms that have strived to create a collaborative and inclusionary environment and then be brave while working. The right place would value your thoughts!
As an international student who came to the States for law school, I joined Weltman a year ago in my 2L summer. One of the most valuable aspects of clerking at Weltman has been the firm’s investment in my development. As a high-volume law firm, Weltman did not require me to do substantial legal work in the beginning, but focused on my obtaining a working knowledge of the law firm’s business operations and practice. Our first few assignments were reading and summarizing reports from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and their regulations, as well as learning about relevant case laws in the debt collection industry. These assignments were for the purpose of educating law clerks to help them better understand the particular area of law that Weltman is working in. The summary work of the latest changes in CFPB and new reports are ongoing assignments. I learned a lot from them, and because it has been continuous, I get to see the trend of the policy and the social reason behind it.
Even without a legal background in my home country, I am aware that there are significant disparities in debt collection rules in other civil law systems and in the States under statutory and case law, as well as the CFPB rule. However, I would not say this is the ideal time for international students’ critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to actively analyze, question, and evaluate information, ideas, or arguments—while considering different cultural, linguistic, and academic perspectives. What I mean is that this is not a good time to compare the debt collection rule from your home country with the CFPB rule or even to be critical, because the core mission at this point is to quickly learn the CFPB rule that you will need to work with in your internship. Without a legal background in their home country, it can be a challenge for international law students when they are learning new things in law school and in a law clerk program. From my perspective, it is not necessarily a con being a “completely blank canvas”, but it can even be helpful to learn and gain knowledge and skills when the U.S. legal system is something completely different for you. International students should embrace their diversified background as an advantage; do not make it an obstacle on your way to learning new regulations.
Once I was assigned to work for Weltman attorneys on active cases, it was not just pure research assignments, but a part of the learning process of how litigation works. We communicate in different ways - in person, phone calls, and video meetings and I learned a lot while communicating with attorneys on specific cases. This is the time when I believe critical thinking could be helpful. This stage happens after you take the basic framework of the law you need to apply. International students that have been trained in different countries and different areas could see things from different perspectives. This is a wonderful time to discuss your opinions with the attorneys. Sometimes you don’t even know which idea can inspire the attorneys. Basically, when learning the law and its application process, you can think in critical ways to help the attorneys see things in a new way too. Weltman created a collaborative environment where I can ask questions and share my thoughts and engage in discussions with the attorneys. I do appreciate their openness to questions and discussions, making learning a continuous process. They would point out the difference between real life examples of legal work and what we learned from law school, in which I can learn precious lessons. The attorneys also take law clerks’ opinions seriously, which gives us a sense of engagement and makes us feel encouraged.
We are not just doing paperwork - the attorneys were willing to teach and take us to the court for a hearing, to meet with clients, or to other practical events. Those are the fun parts, and where the biggest difference from law school learning would lie. They are more meaningful for international students to adapt to this completely different legal system.
Beyond legal work, Weltman is committed to inclusion and diversity across the organization. As a minority international student, I don’t feel alienated or special in our office, I am included as a part of the team. Weltman’s inclusive and diverse workplace regarding race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, and marital or veteran status, brings out the best in the employees, the firm, and the community as a whole. We regularly receive emails celebrating different cultures like Black History Month and Women’s History Month for example. This January I was glad to see the celebration of Lunar New Year and it was on the T.V. screens of the building in both English and Chinese, which gave me a sense of belonging.
The best advice I can provide to international law students who are looking to clerk in a U.S. law firm would be to focus on the firms that have strived to create a collaborative and inclusionary environment and then be brave while working. The right place would value your thoughts!
Thank you to Chloe for her insights on the international law clerk experience. Learn more about Weltman’s firm history and/or collection solutions on our website at any time.
This blog is not a solicitation for business, and it is not intended to constitute legal advice on specific matters, create an attorney-client relationship or be legally binding in any way.
This blog is not a solicitation for business, and it is not intended to constitute legal advice on specific matters, create an attorney-client relationship or be legally binding in any way.