On Plan Clerkships 2011 Forum

[Anonymous User]

Why do I picture the Judge's clerks making the 7 am call and not the Judge?

I assumed their judicial assistants did it. Don't forget to always refer to the secretaries as assistants/judicial assistants. They may take a disliking to you if you call them secretaries, and some chambers' secretaries - er, assistants - are quite powerful.

[lolwat]

Like you said, a different ball game, but the guy did ask about on-plan calls.

Off-plan calls are during normal hours because they aren't competing for the same pool of applicants in the same tiny time frame. Off-plan judges, their assistants, and their clerks aren't going to go into the office at 7am just to call up a clerkship applicant when they CAN do so at 9am without losing anything.

On-plan is much different; most of the calls go out within like the first hour, and most of the interviews are scheduled in the same 2 days (15th/16th). West coast judges on plan are very likely to call at 7am PST because they know that if they wait until 10am PST, most of the people they call will already have interviews scheduled for Thursday/Friday.

[lolwat]

I assumed their judicial assistants did it. Don't forget to always refer to the secretaries as assistants/judicial assistants. They may take a disliking to you if you call them secretaries, and some chambers' secretaries - er, assistants - are quite powerful.

This. If their "assistant" has a different official title, you also might not want to call them secretaries OR assistants. I was warned about that prior to my most recent interview.

[Anonymous User]

Bump for tomorrow morning

[Anonymous User]

I did just get a ding note from Briscoe, 10th Cir. Lawclerkaddict's only news for the day is that Higginbotham - one of my top choices - has made his calls.

[Anonymous User]

+1 on call from Aldisert clerks

+1 on ding from Briscoe

[Anonymous User]

In further cheery news, a friend told me a professor informs that Ambro received 800 applications for one spot. Don't see how that's possible, as Ambro is finished for 2012 AND 2013 on OSCAR, but perhaps it was someone else.

[Anonymous User]

+1 on call from Aldisert clerks

Did you also find that to be a somewhat substanceless, rather OCI-screener-esque chat? Very interesting information on what the clerkship is like, but super-softball, vague questions, and very few of them.

[Anonymous User]

+1 on call from Aldisert clerks

Did you also find that to be a somewhat substanceless, rather OCI-screener-esque chat? Very interesting information on what the clerkship is like, but super-softball, vague questions, and very few of them.

My conversation went that way too, but I think they're just looking to see if we would fit in the office at this point. I'm not sure what the Judge's style is though. If I get an interview I'll of course study up on him, but I'm glad the preliminary convo was more OCI-style. Sounds like a great office.

[Anonymous User]

+1 on call from Aldisert clerks

Did you also find that to be a somewhat substanceless, rather OCI-screener-esque chat? Very interesting information on what the clerkship is like, but super-softball, vague questions, and very few of them.

My conversation went that way too, but I think they're just looking to see if we would fit in the office at this point. I'm not sure what the Judge's style is though. If I get an interview I'll of course study up on him, but I'm glad the preliminary convo was more OCI-style. Sounds like a great office.

I'm not a fan of OCI-style convos. It... does sound like a great office for the most part, with the exceptions that (a) there are only two clerks, so if you don't like the other person, you're screwed, besides which, it's more fun to work with three than one, and (b) the thing where they format all their bench memos like opinions. An opinion's a very rigid format in ways that a bench memo isn't. Styling everything like an opinion would annoy me a bit. And of course, there is the whole "what if he dies" concern. He'll be 93 next fall.

[Anonymous User]

11 hours to go

[Anonymous User]

In further cheery news, a friend told me a professor informs that Ambro received 800 applications for one spot. Don't see how that's possible, as Ambro is finished for 2012 AND 2013 on OSCAR, but perhaps it was someone else.

The professor said it was for no spots. Your friend misheard. (100% in that same class...)

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, I'm kind of still in trauma over not getting into that class. It was probably my cover letter where I went on and on about how bad I was in moot court, and how the clinic could help me improve. But what I don't get, about that story, is that it's technologically impossible, via OSCAR, to apply for a filled spot. So how did Ambro get all these apps? And what is it about Ambro, by the way, that makes him such a hot judge to apply to, such that he can fill spots 2 years ahead of time? I've worked at the Third Circuit, and Ambro's definitely one of the stand-outs, but he trails Scirica and Barry as a feeder, and I'd contend he trails a few of them as judges as well. He definitely isn't, at the least, in a class above Scirica, Smith, Rendell, Jordan, Barry - maybe he's a better judge than Hardiman or Fuentes or Greenaway (who I think has a really bright future ahead of him), but not dramatically so.

[Clurking2011]

Do 95% of calls today come between 10-11am today? Meaning, if I don't hear anything during that hour can I just go on about my day?

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, I'm kind of still in trauma over not getting into that class. It was probably my cover letter where I went on and on about how bad I was in moot court, and how the clinic could help me improve. But what I don't get, about that story, is that it's technologically impossible, via OSCAR, to apply for a filled spot. So how did Ambro get all these apps? And what is it about Ambro, by the way, that makes him such a hot judge to apply to, such that he can fill spots 2 years ahead of time? I've worked at the Third Circuit, and Ambro's definitely one of the stand-outs, but he trails Scirica and Barry as a feeder, and I'd contend he trails a few of them as judges as well. He definitely isn't, at the least, in a class above Scirica, Smith, Rendell, Jordan, Barry - maybe he's a better judge than Hardiman or Fuentes or Greenaway (who I think has a really bright future ahead of him), but not dramatically so.

He was still accepting applications up until mid-August if I'm not mistaken. So there were probably several paper applications, at least, that went out. And if people finalized before he closed the application, I assume he still gets them?

Not everyone wants a feeder.

[Clurking2011]

Do 95% of calls today come between 10-11am today? Meaning, if I don't hear anything during that hour can I just go on about my day?

No, some calls come later in the day too. But 90-95% of all calls will go out today.

Interesting. Thanks for the quick response!

[Anonymous User]

I'll kick start things off . . .

Email from Judge Rogers' chambers (6th Cir.) saying that the office will be calling later to set up an interview.

[Anonymous User]

Interview invite from McCalla (W.D. Tenn.)

edit: via voicemail

[Anonymous User]

I'll kick start things off . . .

Email from Judge Rogers' chambers (6th Cir.) saying that the office will be calling later to set up an interview.

Me too, and a call from Holmes (10th Cir.) and Bye (8th).

[Anonymous User]

GTL, does the 90-95% estimate apply to all district judges too, or are you thinking more COA judges who hire on-plan?

[Anonymous User]

Interview invite from McCalla (W.D. Tenn.)

edit: via voicemail

Ouch, I wanted to interview with him. Well, good luck anyway.

[Anonymous User]

Call from Judge Gregory (4th Cir.).

[Anonymous User]

Judge Loken (8th Cir.) has made some calls.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard from the 5th circuit, especially Chief Judge Jones?

[Anonymous User]

Interview invite from McCalla (W.D. Tenn.)

edit: via voicemail

Ouch, I wanted to interview with him. Well, good luck anyway.

TY. They may still be calling, who knows. Good luck.