Clerkship Interview Tips Forum

[Anonymous User]

I've got a clerkship interview coming up with a federal district court and/or magistrate judge. What're some tips to really stand out in the interview?

[Anonymous User]

O.P. here. Thanks so much for that.

If anyone has any other ideas for substantive questions, I'd love to have them. I've had some colleagues who said 10-12 still weren't enough to get through the entire interview.

[Anonymous User]

Why do judges ask "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" What's a good response to that?

[Lawlcat]

Why do judges ask "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" What's a good response to that?

I advise maniacal laughter.

If you're female, you can start quiet and build to a crescendo, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH8duBDtWY8

[XxSpyKEx]

G. T. L. Rev.'s post is excellent. Although, I wouldn't worry too much about the writing sample if it isn't something that sticks out on your resume (know it, but don't sweat the details). E.g. I used a brief that I wrote, but I never had a judge ask me anything about my writing sample. On the other hand, most judges asked me about my note that was on my resume, but I didn't use as a writing sample.

I hear circuit interviews are sometimes intense, but it seemed like a lot of the interviews I went on (non-circuit courts) had a large component of just getting to know you and seeing how well you get along with the judge. E.g. the majority of my interview the other day consisted of talking about my car that I built, which, obviously, has literally nothing to do with clerking or being a lawyer at all.

As for questions- you can easily get by with just 4-5 questions. It all depends, though. If you are the last person the judge is interviewing that day (or the only one he is interviewing at that time), some judges will be fine with sitting there and talking to you for an hour or more. I always felt that it was good to have a lot of questions for these types of judges that don't cut you off on questions because I figured at the very least it shows that you are genuinely interested in the position and working for that judge.