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An opportunity for an internship with a federal district judge might presented itself. However, I also have the option of taking a paid internship at a small firm.

Is getting a district judge internship going to make me much for valuable than a paid firm job (that is not BigLaw)? Or does it not matter what kind of 1L internship I get, as long as I get one (if its not with BigLaw or a federal appellate judge intern)?

Thanks.

Edited for accuracy.

Conventional wisdom is that it is incredibly inappropriate to turn down an offer from a judge. If you didn't want the judicial internship you shouldn't have applied for it.

vanwinkle wrote:Conventional wisdom is that it is incredibly inappropriate to turn down an offer from a judge. If you didn't want the judicial internship you shouldn't have applied for it.

Sorry, I miscommunicted. By "opportunity" I did not mean that I have accepted any offer. No official offer has been extended to me.

Assuming an offer was given, should i accept on the spot or decline respectfully because of the firm job. Or does it not matter?

vanwinkle wrote:Conventional wisdom is that it is incredibly inappropriate to turn down an offer from a judge. If you didn't want the judicial internship you shouldn't have applied for it.

does this apply to jobs with ALJs?

MIA wrote:Assuming an offer was given, should i accept on the spot or decline respectfully because of the firm job. Or does it not matter?

Do you want to work in a firm when you graduate? If so, take the firm job. You'll appreciate having money this summer and the judicial internship isn't going to make a big difference in your life.

I'd just make sure you withdraw from consideration for the judicial internship if that's how you decide.

MIA wrote:An opportunity for an internship with a federal district judge might presented itself. However, I also have the option of taking a paid internship at a small firm.

Is getting a district judge internship going to make me much for valuable than a paid firm job (that is not BigLaw)? Or does it not matter what kind of 1L internship I get, as long as I get one (if its not with BigLaw or a federal appellate judge intern)?

Thanks.

Edited for accuracy.

Check with your school. You may be required to accept the federal judicial externship, if offered. Moreover, turning such a position down is strongly discouraged. With that being said, if you have a summer position with a firm, accept now!

In terms of prestige, I would say that they are about the same as a 1L. It's unlikely that you'll be doing anything substantive in the first place.

Take the firm job, put some cash in your pocket. Judicial internships aren't impressive enough to turn down a job that pays in money.

Renzo wrote:Take the firm job, put some cash in your pocket. Judicial internships aren't impressive enough to turn down a job that pays in money.

This.

If that firm offer is in the bag, so to speak, accept it immediately and withdraw from judicial internship consideration before you're extended an offer.

I actually had to make the same decision few days ago. Turning down a firm gig that pays well (especially in this economy) is pretty tough lol, but I chose to go with the internship. Especially if you plan on clerking after graduation (assuming you keeping your grades up again lol), having the internship will put you in an advantage. The Judge I interviewed with told me out of all the 6 people he interviewed for clerkship all 6 of them had judicial internship on their resume. Plus your judicial internship will def. give you a higher boost than a job at a law firm, atleast from what I gathered from talking many associates and law firm partners. In fact almost all of them suggested that they view judicial internship as opening more doors than a summer 1L law firm gig. But I definitely feel your pain lol, turning down money as a 1L is a tough decision.

With that being said, this is a unanimous advice I received- Do not turn down an offer from a judge unless an extreme situation forces you too. Once you make it to the interview with the Judge (after interviewing with the clerks), most of the time the Judge will offer you the position on the spot (which happened to me as well) so you might want to be ready for that.

But I am sure whatever decision you make you will be more than fine, it is a good problem to have lol.

I have a question along these same lines:

What if I interview for a firm, then interview with a judge a few days later and subsequently get offers from both? Surely it's not inappropriate to turn down a judge then (not that I necessarily would), right?

.

Anonymous User wrote:I have a question along these same lines:

What if I interview for a firm, then interview with a judge a few days later and subsequently get offers from both? Surely it's not inappropriate to turn down a judge then (not that I necessarily would), right?

lol. Did you need to respond to a thread that was written 2 years ago to ask this? Anyway, when I interviewed with a judge, she asked me what other interviews I had lined up and what else I was considering. I was honest and said I was interviewing other places and was not sure when I would hear back. Then see what he/she responds.

ilovesf wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I have a question along these same lines:

What if I interview for a firm, then interview with a judge a few days later and subsequently get offers from both? Surely it's not inappropriate to turn down a judge then (not that I necessarily would), right?

lol. Did you need to respond to a thread that was written 2 years ago to ask this? . . .

Yes, because I get bitched at if I post a new topic when there's already a thread on it.

Anonymous User wrote:

ilovesf wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I have a question along these same lines:

What if I interview for a firm, then interview with a judge a few days later and subsequently get offers from both? Surely it's not inappropriate to turn down a judge then (not that I necessarily would), right?

lol. Did you need to respond to a thread that was written 2 years ago to ask this? . . .

Yes, because I get bitched at if I post a new topic when there's already a thread on it.

Hehe, yeah, that they do. I never understand internet forum rule sticklers. Its an internet forum, WHO CARES???

Sorry, OFF TOPIC!

What do you people think will happen to you if you turn down an internship? I turned down a clerkship offer from a judge who I actually liked a lot, and he hasn't sent a posse comitatus after me.

traydeuce wrote:What do you people think will happen to you if you turn down an internship? I turned down a clerkship offer from a judge who I actually liked a lot, and he hasn't sent a posse comitatus after me.

It is about making your school look bad. If you renege on your employment agreement then a judge might be less likely to hire from your school in the future. Most judges would treat it as an isolated incident but say it happened frequently with students from the same school, the judge might stop hiring from there completely. This is an issue at my school because people are tempted to renege on their judicial externships when they get 1L big law offers. Our CSO makes it very clear that this is not alright. I see the logic in their argument.

Oh, so it's like a Beach Boys 'Be True To Your School (just like you would to your girl or guy)' argument. I would encourage 1Ls to do what's best for their careers, and finances, rather than worry about whether one of the thousands of district judges in our fair land will stop extending fairly meaningless offers of unpaid employment to future 1Ls from their school. Also, "reneging on an employment agreement" =/= turning down an offer.