Is there a time length needed to receive a clerkship bonus? Forum

[Anonymous User]

For firms that give clerkship bonuses, is there a time requirement? I had always thought that a single "year" was sufficient, even if that year was, say, actually 10 months. But, I've started to hear people mentioning needing to "hit 12 months," etc., and I'm wondering if there is an actual "month" requirement. Thanks.

[Royalduck]

I was wondering about something similar:
1. time length of clerkship
2. time length at the firm - surely they don't give the full bonus to you your first day back? Is it after one year? or spread out over more?

[Citizen Genet]

I was wondering about something similar:
1. time length of clerkship
2. time length at the firm - surely they don't give the full bonus to you your first day back? Is it after one year? or spread out over more?

As with pretty much everything in this forum, it depends.

Some firms do a lump sum up front (I'm pretty sure Quinn Emmanuel and Jones Day take this approach). Others spread it out over the year (I don't know any firm that does this specifically, just heard about it second hand so YMMV on this one.) And some do half up front, half late. (Arnold & Porter uses this approach, paying $25k on day 1 and $25k on your 1 year mark.)

I don't get what you mean by "time length of clerkship?"

[Anonymous User]

I was wondering about something similar:
1. time length of clerkship
2. time length at the firm - surely they don't give the full bonus to you your first day back? Is it after one year? or spread out over more?

As with pretty much everything in this forum, it depends.

Some firms do a lump sum up front (I'm pretty sure Quinn Emmanuel and Jones Day take this approach). Others spread it out over the year (I don't know any firm that does this specifically, just heard about it second hand so YMMV on this one.) And some do half up front, half late. (Arnold & Porter uses this approach, paying $25k on day 1 and $25k on your 1 year mark.)

I don't get what you mean by "time length of clerkship?"

My clerkship goes from August until mid-June. This is less than 12 months. If there was a "12 month" requirement, I would not be eligible for a bonus.

[ClerkAdvisor]

I was wondering about something similar:
1. time length of clerkship
2. time length at the firm - surely they don't give the full bonus to you your first day back? Is it after one year? or spread out over more?

As with pretty much everything in this forum, it depends.

Some firms do a lump sum up front (I'm pretty sure Quinn Emmanuel and Jones Day take this approach). Others spread it out over the year (I don't know any firm that does this specifically, just heard about it second hand so YMMV on this one.) And some do half up front, half late. (Arnold & Porter uses this approach, paying $25k on day 1 and $25k on your 1 year mark.)

I don't get what you mean by "time length of clerkship?"

My clerkship goes from August until mid-June. This is less than 12 months. If there was a "12 month" requirement, I would not be eligible for a bonus.

Relax. Firms pay bonuses for your having completed a clerkship -- they don't care whether your term was 10 months or 14 months...

[Citizen Genet]

I was wondering about something similar:
1. time length of clerkship
2. time length at the firm - surely they don't give the full bonus to you your first day back? Is it after one year? or spread out over more?

As with pretty much everything in this forum, it depends.

Some firms do a lump sum up front (I'm pretty sure Quinn Emmanuel and Jones Day take this approach). Others spread it out over the year (I don't know any firm that does this specifically, just heard about it second hand so YMMV on this one.) And some do half up front, half late. (Arnold & Porter uses this approach, paying $25k on day 1 and $25k on your 1 year mark.)

I don't get what you mean by "time length of clerkship?"

My clerkship goes from August until mid-June. This is less than 12 months. If there was a "12 month" requirement, I would not be eligible for a bonus.

Gotcha. Never heard of a firm denying a bonus because the clerkship was less than a year, but to be honest, I've never heard of a clerkship going less than a year. My guess is that it won't matter and at the worst, they'd pro-rate it.