Firm offers and Clerkships Forum

[vamedic03]

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[Stanislaw Carter]

That isn't happening now, and in fact in NY and DC, firms are hungry for clerks right now.

I agree. I was just pointing out that the proposition, "If they liked clerks before, they still like them now, so don't worry," is iffy as a general statement, given what firms did during ITE.

[Stanislaw Carter]

Are you trying to scare people out of clerking? You certainly are not providing any information of any value whatsoever.

ETA - the article you linked to only mentioned Latham. A links within the article reference Wiley Rein, etc.

I don't know if you're acting dumb, or if you're actually dumb. I'll repeat what I stated above:

I was just pointing out that the proposition, "If they liked clerks before, they still like them now, so don't worry," is iffy as a general statement, given what firms did during ITE.

One firm referenced in the article I linked to was Wiley. GTL referenced Wilmer. Clearly I'm not making stuff up here. Clearly things are better now. But clearly this wasn't always the case that clerks were safe (otherwise the above article wouldn't have been posted), and clearly it's worth it to point out the risk, no matter how minor. If you don't think that adds value, shove it.

[vamedic03]

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[Stanislaw Carter]

If you want to be a litigator, an Article III clerkship is about the best possible thing you can do for your career. No matter what happens, you have a 1 year, intensive experience that will stay with you the rest of your career. FWIW - firms that didn't let clerks come back also (e.g. Latham): (a) fire first year associates and (b) indefinitely deferred associates.

Now you're acting oblivious. Wiley Rein was referenced in that article, and GTL (a pretty reputable poster here) recalls seeing Wilmer in the comments thread. Neither of those firms (officially) fired first year associates, and neither of those firms indefinitely deferred their associates.

[Stanislaw Carter]

If you want to be a litigator, an Article III clerkship is about the best possible thing you can do for your career.

You are patently confused about what I'm saying here. I just stated that the proposition that clerks are always safe isn't necessarily true. Things are excellent for them now. This is the third time I've stated this.

Regarding the general value of an Article III clerkship, I think it depends on which specific clerkship you're talking about. For a regular litigator, I've been told that appellate clerkships are not really that useful (and I've been told this by probably one of the most authoritative sources on the matter). Prestigious district court clerkships, on the other hand, are incredibly useful for regular litigators.

[Anonymous User]

This has been extremely helpful. I think it's safe to say: 1) firms will more likely than not hold your spot for you and 2) even if they don't, you should still have a decent shot at another firm. Either way, paranoid 2L fears assuaged.