Was I being unrealistic? No Interview Forum

[ArtistOfManliness]

Honestly, the applications from HYS are all so similar it's really a crapshoot. I clerks for a judge at District Court in D.C. and told us to pull any of the HYS applicants who had "baking or cooking" listed as an interest because he loves food....Totally random way to select applicants but that's how he did it.

Amazing.

I respect that. Judge wants free food.

I'm confused. How does an applicant's listing of baking as a hobby get the judge free food?

You're not very bright, are you?

[Anonymous User]

Are you applying for 18-19?

Yes I am! Sorry forgot to include.

Six months ago, my SDNY chambers had already hired through 2019-20, so if you applied to my judge in the summer/fall, you'd have had to be applying for 2020-21 to not end up in the trash.

Hello, I'm a 3L and summered at V5. One of my references is a partner at those firms.... because I heard district court judges like that?? I don't know. I'm so sad.

Keep in mind that we get so many applications -- some chambers who use Oscar get over a thousand per spot -- that some judges are forced to rely on idiosyncratic criteria like the baking anecdote above just to whittle down the number of applications to a manageable number. In most cases you just need something that stands out to get your application in front of the judge, like a phone call from someone the judge knows and trusts or EIC of LR at a T14 or whatever.

A LOR from a V5 partner is fine, but it's not necessarily enough. Is the partner a former clerk? Ask him/her to call the judge for him he/she clerked. Is there a law professor or really senior partner who is on a board or panel with a judge? Would that person be willing to speak to the judge on your behalf? That's the kind of thing that gets judges' attention.

Your credentials are good enough, they're just not sufficient to get ahead of the rest of the pack. Work any connections, beef up your application with that little something extra, try again, and make clear that you are applying for 19-20 or any subsequent term. You very well may get it next time.

Edited for clarity.

[jbagelboy]

Hello, I'm a 3L and summered at V5. One of my references is a partner at those firms.... because I heard district court judges like that?? I don't know. I'm so sad.

ETA: Is it just not interview season or something

Depends on which V5 you worked at.

I don't wanna be specific.... could you elaborate more?

He's trolling you. It makes absolutely no difference. Except wachtell all those firms are the same, and it doesn't look like you have the grades for wachtell. Also where you summer has little to no impact on clerkship hiring.

[Anonymous User]

If you need to be near NY and need/really want to clerk, apply to DNJ and D.Conn. As others have echoed, your grades/credentials don't disqualify you from most SDNY/EDNY judges but are not super-competitive. I graduated with almost an H average from HYS and softs comparable to yours and didn't get interviews in SDNY/EDNY--ended up going elsewhere in the Acela corridor. Also had friends with worse grades who did get SDNY/EDNY so it can definitely be unpredictable.

[RaceJudicata]

Honestly, the applications from HYS are all so similar it's really a crapshoot. I clerks for a judge at District Court in D.C. and told us to pull any of the HYS applicants who had "baking or cooking" listed as an interest because he loves food....Totally random way to select applicants but that's how he did it.

Amazing.

I respect that. Judge wants free food.

I'm confused. How does an applicant's listing of baking as a hobby get the judge free food?

Well, one possibility (and just a hunch because it is a very foreign concept) is that the clerk--who happens to have an interest in baking--goes home from work some days and bakes. After said clerk bakes, he or she brings some of these precious baked goods into chambers. The judge then eats said baked goods. So do the co-clerks, externs, JA, and courtroom deputy.

Again, just a hunch.

[Anonymous User]

Does the clerk who can't bake but brings a dozen krispy kremes get credit too?

[wwwcol]

Honestly, the applications from HYS are all so similar it's really a crapshoot. I clerks for a judge at District Court in D.C. and told us to pull any of the HYS applicants who had "baking or cooking" listed as an interest because he loves food....Totally random way to select applicants but that's how he did it.

Amazing.

I respect that. Judge wants free food.

I'm confused. How does an applicant's listing of baking as a hobby get the judge free food?

Well, one possibility (and just a hunch because it is a very foreign concept) is that the clerk--who happens to have an interest in baking--goes home from work some days and bakes. After said clerk bakes, he or she brings some of these precious baked goods into chambers. The judge then eats said baked goods. So do the co-clerks, externs, JA, and courtroom deputy.

Again, just a hunch.

Assuming the judge likes high-quality baked goods, how does the judge evaluate each candidate's baking skill? Do the candidates bring baked goods to the interview?