Biggest signing bonus for senior judicial clerk? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Sorry but I must keep this vague. I am a senior associate who just finished a judicial clerkship that is very important in the field of law that I practice.

I really don’t know what this would refer to. A bankruptcy or tax clerk, maybe? But I’m still not sure why this means the OP would command more than market.

Bk and Tax clerks are a dime a dozen, and have set scale bonuses (usually below Art3 clerks but in some firms similar).

Supreme Court of Guam? Idk this is getting amusing.

[Anonymous User]

Maybe he is entering some obscure international practice like middle east gas law and was a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Saudia Arabia and has all the Justices of said Court on speed dial.

[Anonymous User]

For at least a brief period of time, clerkships on the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal were extraordinarily competitive. It was common to see clerks spend a year at SCOTUS, and then a year clerking on the tribunal.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry but I must keep this vague. I am a senior associate who just finished a judicial clerkship that is very important in the field of law that I practice.

I really don’t know what this would refer to. A bankruptcy or tax clerk, maybe? But I’m still not sure why this means the OP would command more than market.

Bk and Tax clerks are a dime a dozen, and have set scale bonuses (usually below Art3 clerks but in some firms similar).

Supreme Court of Guam? Idk this is getting amusing.

Yeah, to be clear, I didn’t think tax or BK clerkships were rare enough to command any premium, but I couldn’t think of other “special” clerkships that fit into a particular practice area.

The international ones are a good call, though I think the problem with wanting special money for those is that there can’t be a ton of firms looking for those clerks, either.

[Lm10]

I'm trying to figure out how big of a signing bonus a senior law clerk can get when going back to biglaw. Can any of you guys share your bonuses?


Sorry but I must keep this vague. I am a senior associate who just finished a judicial clerkship that is very important in the field of law that I practice.

Kind of a strange post - what makes your clerkship "very important"? The going rate for federal clerkships at big firms is $50,000 for one, $70,000 for two. Some big firms (Munger, Quinn, Boies) and boutiques (Kellogg, Susman, Selendy) pay more. Federal Circuit clerks sometimes get more. SCOTUS clerks get $450,000. Delaware Chancery / Delaware Supreme Court clerks can get $50,000, but are better off going to Wachtell and trading that signing bonus for a (much) larger EOY bonus. I've never heard of senior litigation associates getting more than the bonuses described above. Maybe a business-minded firm like Kirkland would negotiate a guaranteed comp arrangment.

I think this is now a bit outdated. At least on the Delaware front, most Chancery clerks pull in at least 100k in clerkship bonus. Some are upwards of 175. Not sure what Delaware Supreme Court clerks get.