Former State Supreme Court Clerk Taking Q's Forum

[Anonymous User]

Slow day at work thus far. Former state supreme court clerk willing to take questions if anyone is interested.

[Anonymous User]

Current fed district court clerk. Would there be any added career value to doing a SSC clerkship in the future?

[Anonymous User]

Current fed district court clerk. Would there be any added career value to doing a SSC clerkship in the future?

OP here. No I don't think so. In terms of relative prestige, Fed. Dist Court > SSC. The only way I could see it having some added value is if you're in a flyover district and you want to work in the state where you would do a SSC clerkship. My clerkship had a ton of appeal in the state where I clerked, but very little appeal when I looked out-of-state.

[Anonymous User]

What about doing it the other way (SSC-->fed dist. or COA)? Do you think there are any jobs in your state that a federal clerkship would help with but for which a SSC clerkship might not be enough on its own?

[Anonymous User]

What about doing it the other way (SSC-->fed dist. or COA)? Do you think there are any jobs in your state that a federal clerkship would help with but for which a SSC clerkship might not be enough on its own?

OP here. Yeah, definitely. I found I had a lot of luck with the regional small and mid-size firms (where I'm at now) because they tend to have a bigger practice in state courts, but less luck with the bigger firms. As far as the "big-law" firms in my state (of which there are many) I think a federal clerkship would have been an added bonus because: (1) the increase in "prestige" with respect to the position and (2) because the majority of their practice is in federal court.

[BearState]

What kind of interaction do you have with other justices/their clerks?

[Anonymous User]

What kind of interaction do you have with other justices/their clerks?

OP here. A fair amount. My judge was friendlier with some judges more than others, so the judges he was friendly with would tend to be in chambers more often. With respect to the clerks, we would have occasional happy hours and lunches from which friendships developed. Other clerks were more secluded. To the extent their was interaction, however, it was purely social. That is, (at least from my experience), don't expect to be discussing decisions etc. with other law clerks. In fact, at least with my judge, we weren't allowed to discuss cases with anyone who wasn't a member of our particular chambers. That may different from court to court and judge to judge, however.

[Anonymous User]

Current fed district court clerk. Would there be any added career value to doing a SSC clerkship in the future?

OP here. No I don't think so. In terms of relative prestige, Fed. Dist Court > SSC. The only way I could see it having some added value is if you're in a flyover district and you want to work in the state where you would do a SSC clerkship. My clerkship had a ton of appeal in the state where I clerked, but very little appeal when I looked out-of-state.

Current third year student here. Last summer I accepted a one-year ssc clerkship after I graduate. I'm not certain that I will want to continue to work in the state where I am clerking. Any advice on the job hunt and how to switch states/advice on the success other clerks on your court had regarding exit options?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I wanted to stay in state, as did most of my colleagues. A couple of my co-clerks went on to work at fed. agencies in D.C., however. In terms of looking out-of-state, your clerkship certainly won't hurt and will help; it just won't give you the same boost as if you had wanted to work in state. As always, your success in looking in different areas will depend largely on your ties to the region. Thus, if you're from New York, for example, but are clerking in Massachusetts, you will probably have relative success finding a job in New York because you have ties to the region. If you're looking to work somewhere you have no ties to whatsoever, you're hunt will be a bit more difficult, but that's true with or without the clerkship.

My best advice, whether in or out-of-state, is to not wait for job postings to open up. Network like crazy, contact alumni at firms you'd be interested in looking at. This is particularly true if you're looking at smaller firms. This will be even more important if you're out-of-state, as it will demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in being in that region.

[nickhalden]

OP here. I wanted to stay in state, as did most of my colleagues. A couple of my co-clerks went on to work at fed. agencies in D.C., however. In terms of looking out-of-state, your clerkship certainly won't hurt and will help; it just won't give you the same boost as if you had wanted to work in state. As always, your success in looking in different areas will depend largely on your ties to the region. Thus, if you're from New York, for example, but are clerking in Massachusetts, you will probably have relative success finding a job in New York because you have ties to the region. If you're looking to work somewhere you have no ties to whatsoever, you're hunt will be a bit more difficult, but that's true with or without the clerkship.

My best advice, whether in or out-of-state, is to not wait for job postings to open up. Network like crazy, contact alumni at firms you'd be interested in looking at. This is particularly true if you're looking at smaller firms. This will be even more important if you're out-of-state, as it will demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in being in that region.

What was your path to a SSC position? Were LS grades a heavy portion?

[A. Nony Mouse]

They usually are, though it depends somewhat on your school and the state. Or if you have connections that trump grades.

[Anonymous User]

Grades matter a lot, but connections to the area matter more than with federal judges in my experience. (I happened to come across the file evaluating the applicants for my year while looking for a file when the secretary was out and couldn't help but look at it). The only reason I can see for me getting the job over some of the other candidates is that I'm from the area of the intermediate appellate court that my judge supervises (like the idea of Circuit Justices, and about as meaningful). Some other applicants were better qualified. I think every clerk for a judge on the court is either from the state or went to the local law schools.

[Anonymous User]

Grades matter a lot, but connections to the area matter more than with federal judges in my experience. (I happened to come across the file evaluating the applicants for my year while looking for a file when the secretary was out and couldn't help but look at it). The only reason I can see for me getting the job over some of the other candidates is that I'm from the area of the intermediate appellate court that my judge supervises (like the idea of Circuit Justices, and about as meaningful). Some other applicants were better qualified. I think every clerk for a judge on the court is either from the state or went to the local law schools.

OP here. I think this is generally right. I was from out-of-state and I was only the second clerk my judge hired who came from out-of-state and went to a school out-of-state, but I lived in a nearby state and knew I wanted to practice in the state in which I clerked due to personal reasons. However, grades were still super important. We generally didn't even interview anyone whose grades were outside the top 15 percent or so absent something compelling in their application. Bottom line--local connections or a desire to practice in state were almost a prerequisite, but local connections alone were inadequate if your grades weren't up to par.

I did know of a couple of judges on the court, however, that were more "prestige whores" and were more interested in finding clerks from top schools rather than local schools. This is probably the exception rather than the rule.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I wanted to stay in state, as did most of my colleagues. A couple of my co-clerks went on to work at fed. agencies in D.C., however. In terms of looking out-of-state, your clerkship certainly won't hurt and will help; it just won't give you the same boost as if you had wanted to work in state. As always, your success in looking in different areas will depend largely on your ties to the region. Thus, if you're from New York, for example, but are clerking in Massachusetts, you will probably have relative success finding a job in New York because you have ties to the region. If you're looking to work somewhere you have no ties to whatsoever, you're hunt will be a bit more difficult, but that's true with or without the clerkship.

My best advice, whether in or out-of-state, is to not wait for job postings to open up. Network like crazy, contact alumni at firms you'd be interested in looking at. This is particularly true if you're looking at smaller firms. This will be even more important if you're out-of-state, as it will demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in being in that region.

What was your path to a SSC position? Were LS grades a heavy portion?

OP again---my last posted sort of answered this but I'll address it directly. I decided I wanted to clerk my second year. I had good grades in law school at a T20 (Top 10%) and was on a secondary journal. I had an outside shot at some federal clerkships but was too risk adverse to forego applying for state clerkships 2L year and hope that I landed a fed clerkship 3L year. So, I blanketed the entire SSC with applications where I wanted to clerk and landed a couple of interviews and ended up with an offer. I didn't have compelling reasons for wanting to clerk on that court specifically, other than my fiancee lived in the state and I knew I wanted to practice there and thought clerking at that level would be a great way to start a career in that state. There was really no magic to it with me, other than having good grades and having a legitimate reason for wanting to be there.

My judge has hired two former interns (including my co-clerk) and I know of other judges on my court that have as well. So, if you don't have the stand-out grades, I think a good way to give yourself a shot is to intern and do outstanding work. IMO, unlike federal judges, a state judge is more likely to hire someone that has previously served as an intern.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Funny, the judges I know who don't hire their former interns are state judges, and the ones that do are federal. Which really just means it varies (I'm sure other samples of judges come out differently).

[Anonymous User]

Funny, the judges I know who don't hire their former interns are state judges, and the ones that do are federal. Which really just means it varies (I'm sure other samples of judges come out differently).

OP here. Ha, shows what I know. But i think you're right, it probably varies widely from court to court or even judge to judge.