Fedclerk plus 2 year ada. advice on next move Forum

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Re: Fedclerk plus 2 year ada. advice on next move

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:06 am

Re: AUSA jobs, unless your USAO is different (which may be), there's little crossover between crim and civ AUSAs. I don't think the reasons USAOs look to hire out of biglaw is for you to get specifically civil experience - it's for the litigation training, especially in complex cases (and the writing involved), and for getting experience in federal court/with federal cases, which just happens to be civil, not because it's civil. Also probably for pedigree and knowing you've handled crazy workloads.

(I realize you may just want to get civil experience to keep your options open generally but I wasn't sure if you meant you needed civil experience to get to the USAO.)

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Re: Fedclerk plus 2 year ada. advice on next move

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:27 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Re: AUSA jobs, unless your USAO is different (which may be), there's little crossover between crim and civ AUSAs. I don't think the reasons USAOs look to hire out of biglaw is for you to get specifically civil experience - it's for the litigation training, especially in complex cases (and the writing involved), and for getting experience in federal court/with federal cases, which just happens to be civil, not because it's civil. Also probably for pedigree and knowing you've handled crazy workloads.

(I realize you may just want to get civil experience to keep your options open generally but I wasn't sure if you meant you needed civil experience to get to the USAO.)
OP here. I realize that there are both criminal and civil ausas. I suppose one benefit of the civil experience is that it could potentially qualify me for both.

So assuming I get midlaw and not biglaw, the outstanding question going to whether I take the midlaw job or stay at the dao and keep applying to junior lateral biglaw positions...is whether I could lateral after a year or so from the strong regional midlaw to biglaw (assuming I want ausa) or whether having worked at midlaw will get me taken out of the pile?

That’s what I’m unclear about. When you add fedclerk to ada and are then looking at General biglaw lit associate positions, does having a year midlaw civil and/or white collar lit experience help because it’s relevant experience or hurt because of the relative lack of prestige?

In other words, how often do people lateral up from strong regional to biglaw and, if rare, how much of a boost is fedclerk plus ada? Enough to make it more likely?
What about a willingness to drop a class year or two?

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Re: Fedclerk plus 2 year ada. advice on next move

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
FascinatedWanderer wrote:If this major market is anything like NYC/SF/LA hasn't the biglaw ship already sailed? I've never met anyone who came to a biglaw firm after a couple of years at a DA's office.
EDNY regularly takes ADA's with good experience. At least that's what I was told by EDNY AUSAs.
SDNY is a different story, though.
EDNY regularly takes Manhattan or Brooklyn ADAs- not just any ADAs.

Also, is the willingness to drop class years actually a thing? If so, how do you convey that? How often does it happen?

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Re: Fedclerk plus 2 year ada. advice on next move

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 09, 2018 1:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
FascinatedWanderer wrote:If this major market is anything like NYC/SF/LA hasn't the biglaw ship already sailed? I've never met anyone who came to a biglaw firm after a couple of years at a DA's office.
EDNY regularly takes ADA's with good experience. At least that's what I was told by EDNY AUSAs.
SDNY is a different story, though.
EDNY regularly takes Manhattan or Brooklyn ADAs- not just any ADAs.

Also, is the willingness to drop class years actually a thing? If so, how do you convey that? How often does it happen?
How many years out are those adas? What do you think differentiates them from the pack? Unit within the Das office? Appeals experience? Murder trial experience? Clerkship? Personal connection?

And to answer your question, absolutely. You apply for lower level jobs (in terms of class year) and mention in your cover letter that you’d be willing to come in at z class.

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Re: Fedclerk plus 2 year ada. advice on next move

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 15, 2018 11:08 am

OP here 6 months later. I’m pending after a second round ausa interview (was shocked to even get one at this stage), and have a third interview at a vault 30 (or so) biglaw shop.

Fingers are intensely crossed that at least one of the above things work out.

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