A new effort is underway to find the answer to a quandary that has long vexed the federal judiciary: why so few minorities serve as law clerks.

California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has joined former judge and Federal Judicial Center director Jeremy Fogel, and the American Bar Foundation, to delve into the question and come up with positive solutions for judges, law students, professors and other players in the law clerk hiring process.