CoA Judges- Best Quality of Life Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone want to volunteer some names of CoA Judges with reputations for having good quality of life (however you want to define it; that is, just because you may work hard/long doesn't necessarily mean it is not a good job to have if your judge treats you well).

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

That seems awesome!

[ndirish2010]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

I've also heard great things about Judge Benton. He loves to hire his former interns though and you pretty much need a connection to KC.

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

I've also heard great things about Judge Benton. He loves to hire his former interns though and you pretty much need a connection to KC.

any word on credentials required? i have extremely strong ties to KC, so i'm curious.

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

willing to share your stats? he is my top choice judge.

[ndirish2010]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

I've also heard great things about Judge Benton. He loves to hire his former interns though and you pretty much need a connection to KC.

any word on credentials required? i have extremely strong ties to KC, so i'm curious.

PM me

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

willing to share your stats? he is my top choice judge.

Top 1/3 at CCN with strong recs (calls to chambers) and I grew up in KC.

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed with (but unfortunately did not get hired by) Judge Benton on the 8th Circuit. Awesome chambers atmosphere. Clerks (and the judge!) we're in jeans and had their shoes kicked off. Seemed like a really chill gig.

willing to share your stats? he is my top choice judge.

Top 1/3 at CCN with strong recs (calls to chambers) and I grew up in KC.

Thanks for this. As a point of information, when you (or others) say "calls to chambers" does that usually mean their recommenders personally knew the judge and put a call in or that you told your recommendations who your top choice is and they made a call for you? this might be a stupid question, but I'm new to the clerkship application process so I'm unsure.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for this. As a point of information, when you (or others) say "calls to chambers" does that usually mean their recommenders personally knew the judge and put a call in or that you told your recommendations who your top choice is and they made a call for you?.

No problem. It was the latter. Though if you find yourself in the former position, that's obviously the most ideal. Talk with your recommenders about any judges they might be "in" with.

[Anonymous User]

Couldn't believe this thread when I saw it. Benton is also my top choice. I'll post non-anon if anyone ITT is willing to PM me more details. I would really appreciate it. I'm from KC and at the top of the class at a nearby school (not KU/MU/UMKC).

My biggest concern is that he still seems to be sticking to the plan, and I may be passing up other coa opportunities off plan to wait for him. But I really want to go back to KC and he blew me away the first time I met him.

[Anonymous User]

Couldn't believe this thread when I saw it. Benton is also my top choice. I'll post non-anon if anyone ITT is willing to PM me more details. I would really appreciate it. I'm from KC and at the top of the class at a nearby school (not KU/MU/UMKC).

My biggest concern is that he still seems to be sticking to the plan, and I may be passing up other coa opportunities off plan to wait for him. But I really want to go back to KC and he blew me away the first time I met him.

He's was a really engaging guy in our interview and seems like a great boss. Good luck!

[Anonymous User]

Couldn't believe this thread when I saw it. Benton is also my top choice. I'll post non-anon if anyone ITT is willing to PM me more details. I would really appreciate it. I'm from KC and at the top of the class at a nearby school (not KU/MU/UMKC).

My biggest concern is that he still seems to be sticking to the plan, and I may be passing up other coa opportunities off plan to wait for him. But I really want to go back to KC and he blew me away the first time I met him.

He's was a really engaging guy in our interview and seems like a great boss. Good luck!

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Do you think the calls to chambers made a difference in your getting an interview? I have one professor willing to call, but he doesn't know him.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Do you think the calls to chambers made a difference in your getting an interview? I have one professor willing to call, but he doesn't know him.

Probably not as much as my strong KC connection (born and raised). My recommenders didn't know the Judge either, but I'm sure it helped to hear from them over the phone.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Do you think the calls to chambers made a difference in your getting an interview? I have one professor willing to call, but he doesn't know him.

Probably not as much as my strong KC connection (born and raised). My recommenders didn't know the Judge either, but I'm sure it helped to hear from them over the phone.

Given that he's on plan, what is the ideal timing for a call?

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone speak to the qualify of life while clerking for the Federal Circuit?

[ClerkAdvisor]

Can anyone speak to the qualify of life while clerking for the Federal Circuit?

This is going to be judge dependent. Judges are like the CEO's of their own micro-corporations - each operates differently. The difference between chambers, separate by only a hallway, can be night and day.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone speak to the qualify of life while clerking for the Federal Circuit?

It's generally a pretty cushy gig. Every chambers is different, but as far as I could tell from my time there, there are no truly hard core clerkships on the CAFC. It's certainly nothing compared working in a firm.

[Anonymous User]

It's been a while since anyone has updated this thread. Does anyone have any other judges they wanted to share as being particularly excellent to work for?

[Anonymous User]

All second-hand, but I've heard good things about working for Thompson (1st), Diaz (4th), and Jordan (11th).

[Anonymous User]

All second-hand, but I've heard good things about working for Thompson (1st), Diaz (4th), and Jordan (11th).

Thanks for sharing! Perhaps it would be useful to expand this thread to cover quality of life in general, including perhaps judges that are known for working their clerks unusually hard or otherwise not providing a high quality of life.

I've heard that Kozinski (9th) makes his clerks work until 1 am every night, and does not give them days off, even for Christmas.

[Anonymous User]

I have heard great things about the quality of life with some of the young GWB appointees, Judges Gorsuch, Kethledge, and Colloton.

[Anonymous User]

I know personally that Judge Albert Diaz's clerks have an excellent work life balance and that he is one of the nicest people in the world to work for.

[Anonymous User]

I know personally that Judge Albert Diaz's clerks have an excellent work life balance and that he is one of the nicest people in the world to work for.

I applied to him before I even knew this and now I'm even more disappointed that he's full.

[Anonymous User]

Judge Jolly on the Fifth Circuit is easily one of the nicest judges. His clerks rave about him.