The National Center for State Court (NCSC)’s Blueprint for Racial Justice, funded by SJI, recently launched one of its most ambitious and anticipated projects, Court Opportunity Recruitment for All (CORA). CORA is a web-based platform developed to broaden the diversity of the bench and bar by helping state courts recruit from a national pool of law students – and at the same time, provide law students a universal application process with access to court positions nationwide.

“We are excited to release CORA, which was created, in part, to help courts increase the pool of diverse and qualified candidates for clerkships, externships and internships,” said Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. “Attracting law students who bring more diversity of backgrounds and experiences will increase access and fairness in our courts.”

CORA does not replace a court’s current system of recruitment, it complements it, said Chief Judge Blackburne-Rigsby. 

Additionally, CORA will help raise awareness among law school students about opportunities in state courts, said Connecticut Chief Justice Richard Robinson. “The thing about (state-court) clerking, I think it is a job very few people know about.”

Law students interested in clerkships have traditionally gravitated toward federal courts, in part, because the federal application portal, OSCAR, is easily accessible to law students. CORA is designed to work much like OSCAR.

With CORA’s launch, the Blueprint is asking state courts across the country to upload their job opportunities to the platform — a free, simple, straightforward process accessed here.