Biglaw Judicial Clerk Recruiting Forum

[Anonymous User]

I struck out at OCI with stats of top 5%, LR at a T50 school that dominates its currently very weak market. I did obtain a relatively low paying SA position at a 70 attorney products liability/insurance defense firm.

Since I want to do commercial litigation, my goal is to get a clerkship and apply again to my region's equivalent of BigLaw. Obviously, landing a clerkship is hard these days, but I do have a very solid in with a COA judge, as well as strong family connections with a couple district court judges, so I do have a reasonable shot at landing one.

So my question is this: How does the clerkship recruiting process work? Is the law clerk recruiting season concurrent or after the law student recruiting season? Does anyone have anything useful to add?

[Kohinoor]

I struck out at OCI with stats of top 5%, LR at a T50 school that dominates its currently very weak market. I did obtain a relatively low paying SA position at a 70 attorney products liability/insurance defense firm.

Since I want to do commercial litigation, my goal is to get a clerkship and apply again to my region's equivalent of BigLaw. Obviously, landing a clerkship is hard these days, but I do have a very solid in with a COA judge, as well as strong family connections with a couple district court judges, so I do have a reasonable shot at landing one.

So my question is this: How does the clerkship recruiting process work? Is the law clerk recruiting season concurrent or after the law student recruiting season? Does anyone have anything useful to add?

Emory?

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

I am familiar with the process by which judges hire clerks(I have a family member who is a federal judge). I am looking for information on how law firms recruit clerks.

[LurkerNoMore]

OP here.

I am familiar with the process by which judges hire clerks(I have a family member who is a federal judge). I am looking for information on how law firms recruit clerks.

They don't. At least not in the formal OCI-type manner.

Most clerks have offers that are open for their consideration after they have completed their clerkships (from their 2L SA). People who don't have offers, or who don't want to take their offer will submit applications to the firms they are interested in at the end of their clerkship, or after it has ended (you will need to check with your judge on when you can put yourself back on the market).

In other words, the onus will be on you, just as if you were working at a firm and wanted to lateral after your first year.

[Aberzombie1892]

If I'm not mistaken, many firms want 3L's that will be entering a clerkship the following year to apply for a summer clerkship that would take place between 3L and the beginning of the clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

If I'm not mistaken, many firms want 3L's that will be entering a clerkship the following year to apply for a summer clerkship that would take place between 3L and the beginning of the clerkship.

Questions:
1. As far as you know, is this a practice that is common to any particular region?
2. Since the normal recruiting process is that firms interview 2Ls, would you apply to firms through direct mail solicitation?

[Anonymous User]

If I'm not mistaken, many firms want 3L's that will be entering a clerkship the following year to apply for a summer clerkship that would take place between 3L and the beginning of the clerkship.

No. Typically most people take the July bar exam. There are something like 2 or 3 large firms that actively recruit for pre-clerkship SAs, but besides that it's all the same as applying to a firm as a 3L after starting a clerkship if you didn't do a 2L SA (i.e. you will apply to the firm after they already completed their entry level hiring out of their prior year's 2L SA class, meaning the firm has to have underhired out of their summer class, which is rare ITE (hence the lack of 3L hiring now)). You are, however, at an advantage leaving a clerkship applying to a firm over a 3L because you have that clerkship on your resume. But people really shouldn't look at clerking as a backdoor into biglaw because it's not likely, unless you somehow land a really, really prestigious clerkship (since v10 type firms are the only firms that seem to underhire out of their summer classes nowadays).

[pasteurizedmilk]

How does the clerkship recruiting process work? Is the law clerk recruiting season concurrent or after the law student recruiting season? Does anyone have anything useful to add?

It is seldom the case that one can land a federal clerkship after striking out in biglaw recruiting. There are a few exceptions every year, but the odds are strongly against you.

Why is that? Do Judges care about an SA biglaw position, or is it just if you don't have the creds to get biglaw you prolly don't have the creds to get a clerkship?

[phillyphan]

There are something like 2 or 3 large firms that actively recruit for pre-clerkship SAs.

Care to share which firms those are? You can PM.

[Anonymous User]

There are something like 2 or 3 large firms that actively recruit for pre-clerkship SAs.

Care to share which firms those are? You can PM.

This last year Goodwin (DC) had 1 spot, Jenner (DC & NY) had at least 2 spot, and Munger (not surprising being that 70% of the attorneys have clerked for federal judges). Some other firms are receptive to the idea of it if you ask, many are not (i.e. they will set a ground rule of not hiring anything but 2Ls for SA positions). Since there are a LOT of 3Ls without jobs, and probably something like 10-15 SAs spots possible nationwide at large firms for pre-clerk 3Ls (that's # is my guess), it's definitely not like 2L OCI (in other words, you had better have some impressive stats and an impressive clerkship lined up before they finish their fall recruiting to stand a shot at one of these).