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Advice? I'm hung up on the fact that the Fed Dist Court Clerkship is 2 years and that's gonna be rough financially...

Litigation? What type of firm? If you are interested in clerking, do it. The financial hit is not THAT big. If you just want it for the credential, maybe not worth it. You could also go work for a year or two or three, then consider clerking if you feel you want to do so. The financial hit is smaller if you go that route.

lawschoofoo wrote:Advice? I'm hung up on the fact that the Fed Dist Court Clerkship is 2 years and that's gonna be rough financially...

Need more info.

1. Is the judge in the same market where you will (or want to) work?
2. If not in the same market, what district is the clerkship in? A glamour district (e.g. SDNY, CDCA, etc.)?
3. What do you ultimately want to do? Litigate? Teach? Government?

anon168 wrote:

lawschoofoo wrote:Advice? I'm hung up on the fact that the Fed Dist Court Clerkship is 2 years and that's gonna be rough financially...

Need more info.

1. Is the judge in the same market where you will (or want to) work?
2. If not in the same market, what district is the clerkship in? A glamour district (e.g. SDNY, CDCA, etc.)?
3. What do you ultimately want to do? Litigate? Teach? Government?

Yes
Not glamour
Be a judge, or litigate

I know the likely answer - do the clerkship. But what about staying in Biglaw a few years to bank cash, and then clerking subsequently?

In my experience, a two year clerkship is not worthwhile because you are not exposed to anything you did not see your first year and it provides no additional bump in terms of clerking on a COA or firm-wise if you have an offer in hand. I have heard of firms generally being opposed to two-year clerkships because they do not want you out there that long and your two year clerkship does not aid their prestige bottom line any more than a one-year deal does. Judges do it so they have some stability in chambers and can bring you along slowly if they are hands-on and want to mentor you (which is great). If you have an eye towards academia, I think it might be a better experience in that circumstance.

Also talk to your firm... they might not be thrilled with the idea of a 2 year clerkship.

lawschoofoo wrote:

anon168 wrote:

lawschoofoo wrote:Advice? I'm hung up on the fact that the Fed Dist Court Clerkship is 2 years and that's gonna be rough financially...

Need more info.

1. Is the judge in the same market where you will (or want to) work?
2. If not in the same market, what district is the clerkship in? A glamour district (e.g. SDNY, CDCA, etc.)?
3. What do you ultimately want to do? Litigate? Teach? Government?

Yes
Not glamour
Be a judge, or litigate

I know the likely answer - do the clerkship. But what about staying in Biglaw a few years to bank cash, and then clerking subsequently?

Yeah, I would say do the clerkship (but I'm biased because I encourage everyone to clerk).

Clerking won't increase your chances of becoming a judge.

You could certainly clerk after practicing a few years, but that's harder to do for a variety of reasons. One, you sort of get comfortable with your lifestyle as a firm lawyer (even if you save money and say to yourself that the money won't matter), and two, many judges tend not to hire people who have worked more than 2 years at a firm.