3L, top 20: take the clerkship or no? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am a 3L at a top 20 school and I want to be in LA upon graduation. I have an interest in corporate and securities law and have done very well in those courses. I haven't had much luck in the job search thus far but I don't feel discouraged or stressed, yet. A relationship I have could possibly lead to a clerkship in Delaware with the Superior Court but I am unsure if it would open any doors for me in California. I am worried about being stuck in Delaware doing something I don't really want to do.

My question is do I pursue the clerkship and hope things work themselves out or do I turn this opportunity down and hope that I can find something between now and graduation? I am willing to sacrifice to be in the geographic location I want to be in (LA), but I feel like I would not be happy in Delaware unless it was practicing the type of law I am focused on.

I am a realistic person and I don't think all the biglaw firms in LA are going to come knocking on my door next week. I just feel like I should be decently competitive for some sort of decent job at this stage.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Stats: 3L, top 20 school, LR board, top third of class

[Qwerty123]

I am a 3L at a top 20 school and I want to be in LA upon graduation. I have an interest in corporate and securities law and have done very well in those courses. I haven't had much luck in the job search thus far but I don't feel discouraged or stressed, yet. A relationship I have could possibly lead to a clerkship in Delaware with the Superior Court but I am unsure if it would open any doors for me in California. I am worried about being stuck in Delaware doing something I don't really want to do.

My question is do I pursue the clerkship and hope things work themselves out or do I turn this opportunity down and hope that I can find something between now and graduation? I am willing to sacrifice to be in the geographic location I want to be in (LA), but I feel like I would not be happy in Delaware unless it was practicing the type of law I am focused on.

I am a realistic person and I don't think all the biglaw firms in LA are going to come knocking on my door next week. I just feel like I should be decently competitive for some sort of decent job at this stage.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Stats: 3L, top 20 school, LR board, top third of class

Yes Yes Yes! As you are obviously aware, Delaware is the epicenter of corporate America. Firms will really value that experience. Plus you can live in Philly and commute.

[nealric]

Yes Yes Yes! As you are obviously aware, Delaware is the epicenter of corporate America.

Yeah, but it's Superior Court, not Chancery- that would be much better. Superior court is going to be handling some pretty mundane stuff.

[kurla88]

Yes Yes Yes! As you are obviously aware, Delaware is the epicenter of corporate America.

Yeah, but it's Superior Court, not Chancery- that would be much better. Superior court is going to be handling some pretty mundane stuff.

However, also heard that you can sometimes use a Superior Court clerkship to "backdoor" into Chancery. Risky proposition, though.

[Anonymous User]

I am a 3L at a top 20 school and I want to be in LA upon graduation. I have an interest in corporate and securities law and have done very well in those courses. I haven't had much luck in the job search thus far but I don't feel discouraged or stressed, yet. A relationship I have could possibly lead to a clerkship in Delaware with the Superior Court but I am unsure if it would open any doors for me in California. I am worried about being stuck in Delaware doing something I don't really want to do.

There's not much else to do in DE besides local corporate and alt entities counsel. I assume that you are talking about (referencing the bolded) the situation where you do the clerkship, strike out in LA, and also strike out in DE biglaw? Regardless, I don't know how anyone in your position could turn this opportunity down.