He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Southern District of New York from 1931 to 1934, and was an assistant corporate counsel for New York City from 1934 to 1935.
He was an assistant to the special prosecutor of New York County from 1935 to 1937.
[1] On August 12, 1955, Herlands received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge Edward Augustus Conger.
Formally nominated to the same seat by President Eisenhower on January 12, 1956, Herlands was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 26, 1956, and received his commission the next day.
Herlands served in that capacity until his death on August 28, 1969, in New York City.