CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions Forum

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:14 pm

I know it's anecdotal, but who of the above would you seek more info on (i.e. not want to clerk for)? There is just less institutional info about D.C. judges, and so it's hard to tell who to be careful about.

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rpupkin

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by rpupkin » Thu Oct 26, 2017 5:45 pm

Anonymous User wrote:All the “prestige” distinctions above reflect a rough approximation of YLS herd wisdom and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. There are judges listed above I wouldn’t want to clerk for and plenty of judges not listed who would be awesome people to clerk for, great mentors, etc. And generally, take this with a big grain of salt; this reflects my anecdotal experience and conversations with clerks.
I'm glad you closed with this disclaimer. I can't speak to what the current YLS herd wisdom is, but I will say that the prestige line you're drawing between Koh/Chhabria and Seeborg/Tiger/Orrick is not one that I think practitioners, academics, or most others in California would draw. Perhaps there was a bit more law-student interest in Koh when it appeared that she might be headed for the Ninth Circuit, but, now that a Republican is president, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by rpupkin » Thu Oct 26, 2017 6:07 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I know it's anecdotal, but who of the above would you seek more info on (i.e. not want to clerk for)? There is just less institutional info about D.C. judges, and so it's hard to tell who to be careful about.
The best way to get this information is by reaching out to alumni of your school who have clerked for these judges. Some of those judges definitely have their quirks--but I don't think that an internet message board is the proper forum to discuss that kind of thing. Also, the "right" judge for you (assuming you have choices) is going to be contextual. For example, Koh (and the other San Jose judges) tend to have a higher percentage of patent cases than the SF judges. That may or may not be a plus for you, depending on your career goals.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Oct 26, 2017 9:34 pm

rpupkin wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:All the “prestige” distinctions above reflect a rough approximation of YLS herd wisdom and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. There are judges listed above I wouldn’t want to clerk for and plenty of judges not listed who would be awesome people to clerk for, great mentors, etc. And generally, take this with a big grain of salt; this reflects my anecdotal experience and conversations with clerks.
I'm glad you closed with this disclaimer. I can't speak to what the current YLS herd wisdom is, but I will say that the prestige line you're drawing between Koh/Chhabria and Seeborg/Tiger/Orrick is not one that I think practitioners, academics, or most others in California would draw. Perhaps there was a bit more law-student interest in Koh when it appeared that she might be headed for the Ninth Circuit, but, now that a Republican is president, that's not going to happen anytime soon.
YLS grad, current CA9 clerk. I've never heard of this distinction, and like many "prestige demarcations" at YLS, it's almost certainly bullshit.

Chhabria is considered a desirable judge because he's a good, kind person, from everything I've heard.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Oct 27, 2017 1:51 pm

For my judge, if you transferred to H/Y/S (or any school really), it's of paramount importance that you include your grades from your 1L school. If you do not do this, the application goes in the trash without a serious look.

For non transfers, from YLS we look for someone who seems like they actually want to be a lawyer (smaller pool than you'd think), and from HLS we're looking for somewhere north of top 30%.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Oct 27, 2017 2:27 pm

Anonymous User wrote:For my judge, if you transferred to H/Y/S (or any school really), it's of paramount importance that you include your grades from your 1L school. If you do not do this, the application goes in the trash without a serious look.

For non transfers, from YLS we look for someone who seems like they actually want to be a lawyer (smaller pool than you'd think), and from HLS we're looking for somewhere north of top 30%.
I've seen discussion in this thread about Y and H grades, but any experience with SLS grades (as in Prizes and % Hs to Ps) for your judge or CD/ND Cal in general? Pretty tough to guestimate class rank %, even looking through difference threads here on TLS.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:05 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:For my judge, if you transferred to H/Y/S (or any school really), it's of paramount importance that you include your grades from your 1L school. If you do not do this, the application goes in the trash without a serious look.

For non transfers, from YLS we look for someone who seems like they actually want to be a lawyer (smaller pool than you'd think), and from HLS we're looking for somewhere north of top 30%.
I've seen discussion in this thread about Y and H grades, but any experience with SLS grades (as in Prizes and % Hs to Ps) for your judge or CD/ND Cal in general? Pretty tough to guestimate class rank %, even looking through difference threads here on TLS.
SLSer here who clerked on N.D. Cal. I had just under 60% Hs and no law review.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:06 pm

[Double post]

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 26, 2020 2:13 pm

Anyone have any info on Wilson in CD Cal? Have heard mixed things

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:27 pm

Can someone give insight into how Judge Gee in CD Cal hires/what she might look for?

It seems she only takes 2-year clerks, but does she recruit every year?

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jun 27, 2020 1:03 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 26, 2020 2:13 pm
Anyone have any info on Wilson in CD Cal? Have heard mixed things
Wilson fired a clerk a few years ago, but by all accounts, the person deserved it

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:24 pm

How do CA employers view 9th Circuit clerkships in Billings/Idaho Falls/Fairbanks etc.? Are these any easier to get than ND/CD Cal? Is there any marginal benefit to doing a DC clerkship in your district after one of these?

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:24 pm
How do CA employers view 9th Circuit clerkships in Billings/Idaho Falls/Fairbanks etc.? Are these any easier to get than ND/CD Cal? Is there any marginal benefit to doing a DC clerkship in your district after one of these?
Judge almost certainly matters more than location. E.g. Thomas in Billings is one of the very best appellate clerkships in the country, Kleinfeld in Fairbanks is well-known, etc.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:46 pm

Does anyone have any insight on the San Jose ND Cal judges?

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:54 pm

Does anyone have any info on "judicial fellowships" in NDCA? Specifically, exit options?

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Oct 27, 2017 2:27 pm
Anonymous User wrote:For my judge, if you transferred to H/Y/S (or any school really), it's of paramount importance that you include your grades from your 1L school. If you do not do this, the application goes in the trash without a serious look.

For non transfers, from YLS we look for someone who seems like they actually want to be a lawyer (smaller pool than you'd think), and from HLS we're looking for somewhere north of top 30%.
I've seen discussion in this thread about Y and H grades, but any experience with SLS grades (as in Prizes and % Hs to Ps) for your judge or CD/ND Cal in general? Pretty tough to guestimate class rank %, even looking through difference threads here on TLS.
I had interviews with feeder/non-feeders in N.D. Cal. and I had about 85% H's.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:13 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:46 pm
Does anyone have any insight on the San Jose ND Cal judges?
Only things I've heard about San Jose judges are bad things about Koh. But I sometimes wonder whether judges get wakeup calls once the rumors start getting back to them. People I know who applied in the last year or two still chose not to apply to her because of the rumors, but who knows if those rumors are now stale.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 1:02 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:39 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:24 pm
How do CA employers view 9th Circuit clerkships in Billings/Idaho Falls/Fairbanks etc.? Are these any easier to get than ND/CD Cal? Is there any marginal benefit to doing a DC clerkship in your district after one of these?
Judge almost certainly matters more than location. E.g. Thomas in Billings is one of the very best appellate clerkships in the country, Kleinfeld in Fairbanks is well-known, etc.
Seconded on this. CA employers are not going to treat a Ninth Circuit clerkship with Thomas, or Bybee, or Christen (examples only) any differently than they would one with a California judge.

At the same time, these are not going to be easier clerkships to get than ND Cal/CD Cal. A Ninth Circuit clerkship is a Ninth Circuit clerkship

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:46 pm
Does anyone have any insight on the San Jose ND Cal judges?
Former San Jose clerk here. San Jose is a great courthouse and I'd recommend any of the judges there. Koh works her clerks the hardest, and can be a tougher boss than the others in the courthouse, but she's a pleasant person and doesn't merit the horror stories I've heard. She's known for hiring top of class at HYS/Berkeley and definitely has the strictest grade standards of anyone in SJ. Davila is the opposite end of the hiring spectrum. He cares about diversity, particularly racial diversity, in clerk hiring, and has the lowest grade standards of anyone in SJ, and maybe any ND Cal judge period. Very kind boss, and chambers has the best hours among the DJs. Freeman is in between them, closer to Koh. Likes to hire people from Bay Area schools and who are likely to stay in the Bay Area, but lots of Stanford/Berkeley students and top Hastings grads. Always has one patent clerk and one generalist clerk. Nearly always hires people with work experience. She's direct and tough on litigants from the bench but very personable off the bench.

The MJs in San Jose are also great, particularly Judge Cousins.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:02 pm

Anyone have any intel on MJ Beeler in SF?

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:50 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:02 pm
Anyone have any intel on MJ Beeler in SF?
Also interested in MJ Ryu!

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by armsfarther » Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:38 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:50 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:02 pm
Anyone have any intel on MJ Beeler in SF?
Also interested in MJ Ryu!
Don't know about Beeler but Ryu is wonderful.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:51 pm

Anyone heard if Seeborg is full? I've heard he's done at least some interviews.

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:03 pm

Anyone have any news on Judge Chen? Saw he was accepting email applications on June 23

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Re: CDCal/NDCal Clerk Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jul 02, 2020 10:13 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:51 pm
Anyone heard if Seeborg is full? I've heard he's done at least some interviews.
This position is now filled per OSCAR :(

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
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