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Interested in spending a year at a federal district court in an incredible location. Primarily considering Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands (other locations suggestions are welcome). Are regional ties necessary to stand a shot at getting an interview at one of these courts? Side question- does anyone know whether you need to be fluent in spanish to get Puerto Rico?

Anon because I intend to apply to these locations, and I'm not sure if many people actually apply to these locations without ties (especially Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands).

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phoenixsoars wrote:I highly doubt you are the first person to think it would be amazing to do an Article III clerkship while living in an island paradise for a year. There are very few such spots even available and they see tons of applications. I'd imagine you would need (1) ties or a compelling reason to go there and/or (2) amazing credentials from a top school. I defer to anyone with firsthand knowledge as I don't know anyone who managed to land a clerkship on an island.

Define "amazing credentials"... Primarily wondering if (1) is necessary or if (2) alone is sufficient. Also, FWIW, the US Virgin Islands is actually an article IV court (so I guess it's less prestigious?).

Anybody got an idea? GTL Rev ?

bump

D.P.R. is certainly less competitive, presuming you are fluent Spanish speaker (that weeds out a lot of applicants.)

I know two people who clerked in Hawaii. They were both competitive for other similar clerkships in other states; one had no ties to HI, while the other got the job through the first clerk.

Renzo wrote:D.P.R. is certainly less competitive, presuming you are fluent Spanish speaker (that weeds out a lot of applicants.)

I know two people who clerked in Hawaii. They were both competitive for other similar clerkships in other states; one had no ties to HI, while the other got the job through the first clerk.

Thanks for the response. Is fluency in Spanish pretty much a requirement to get a clerkship in the district of Puerto Rico?

Si.

P.S. Depends upon the judge as to whether or not fluency or proficiency in Spanish is required.

As a sidenote, I am aware of some big city DA's offices that are seeking English/Spanish fluency for their appellate divisions. It is easy to understand why prosecutors & defense counsel seek lawyers & paralegals fluent in Spanish due to client & witness contact, but appellate divisions typically just review trial records.

Is it possible that the appellate divisions want someone to verify the accuracy of transcript translations ?

maybe one with a floral print?? i don't really think it should matter that much, but maybe wear standard diagonal stripe ones your first week and see what other people are wearing

I actually have a friend who did an A III clerkship in Hawaii. PM me if you want any info. FWIW: Pretty obscure and unhelpful post "UVA"- Really funny though! (I would personally take anything said by anyone with that moniker with a big f*cking grain of salt...).

Anonymous User wrote:I actually have a friend who did an A III clerkship in Hawaii. PM me if you want any info.

Yes, that would be incredibly useful... but you posted anonymously, so I can't PM you

ITT: TBP

Clearly you don't need any ties for any of these three clerkships. As befitting the local climates, beach attire is considered acceptable.

CanadianWolf wrote:Si.

P.S. Depends upon the judge as to whether or not fluency or proficiency in Spanish is required.

I know this is an old post, but the advice on here is incorrect. The District of Puerto Rico is about 50/50 clerks who can speak Spanish and clerks who cannot. It is also a relatively competitive district in the same way Hawaii is--there are a lot of people who want an Art. III clerkship on a tropical island.

Edit: Realized thread was necro'd. Nevermind.