Summer Clerkship Program
McCleskey is dedicated to develop, challenge, and enhance the skills of the law students who participate in our Summer Clerkship program, while providing an encouraging and collaborative work environment. Our program includes mentorship, challenging assignments, and networking opportunities that can help launch and advance your career.
If you’re a Texas Tech law student, see us in the On Campus Interviews at the law school. If you’re a student at any other law school, please email cover letter and resume to rfranks@mhbg.com.
What to expect
McCleskey's Summer Clerkship Program is designed for 2L and 3L law students, providing them with the opportunity to develop key competencies in nearly all areas in the civil practice of law, and to enrich their learning by adding practical experiences to their law school studies. It's a full-time, six-to-eight week program, which can consist of:
- Attending trials and other court hearings.
- Mediations.
- Legal research.
- Sitting in on client counseling.
Our culture
McCleskey takes pride in our open-door, no-dumb-questions philosophy. Our attorneys enjoy that the firm feels like a family and we want our law clerks to feel part of the family with an almost-100-year history of practicing law in Lubbock, the South Plains and Texas.
Post clerkship
We typically retain one-to-two law school students from our Summer Clerkship Program to work during the Fall and Spring semesters as their time allows. Nearly all of our new attorneys come from the Summer Clerkship Program.
Meet Our Clerkship Alumni
John Shanklin
John is a McCleskey partner. "It was an opportunity to learn how lawyers spend their day and learn about the different areas of law from, in my opinion, the best. It gave me clarity and focus – showing me not only what I wanted to do but where I wanted to do it."
Will Griffis
Will is a McCleskey partner. "Being a law clerk is a great way to apply the knowledge you’ve learned in law school, get exposed to different areas of the law, and perhaps most importantly, evaluate the atmosphere within the firm. I was blessed to be a law clerk for McCleskey and get a taste of many areas of the law. But seeing the personalities, friendliness, and compassion were the main factors that drove me to joining the McCleskey firm."
Scout Blosser
Scout is now a McCleskey attorney. "The program gave me good insight into what it would be like to be an attorney here. It also gave me an idea of what things can come up in civil practice. A lot of it was application of what I was reading in class, but put into a real-world context to see how it would be done. And you also learn some things you don’t learn in law school.”
Leena Al-Souki
Leena is now a McCleskey attorney. "I was excited to come into the office every day because I knew I would learn something new and see the difference between what you're learning in class and what you've learned here. In class you learn the written law but here you learn the practical aspects of how to apply it to real people and real situations, which you don’t do in class. At school we had professors who were very by the book, it's very black and white. But when practicing, you realize everyone's situation is different. Not all of our clients can afford all the time it would cost to do everything by the book. So even though we're taught to do things a certain way and to be very, very detail oriented it doesn't always work for our clients and adds needless cost.
Kathleen Davidson
Kathleen is of counsel with the McCleskey Law Firm. “During my clerkship I was exposed to different 'real world' legal dilemmas faced by clients. From research to motion drafting, I was able to help find a solution to our clients’ problems while improving my research and writing skills.
