Basically everyone in the top third of T10s tries to clerk Forum

[Julio_El_Chavo]

amirite? I get that impression at UVA. 13% of the class gets Art III clerkships, but I'm guessing at least 40% of the class applies to Art III clerkships (almost all of the top 1/3 with a few others rolling the dice).

[Anonymous User]

not positive how responsive this is, but for SLS:

49 individual Art. III clerks in the class of '12 (this is not double counting multiple clerkships)

Career services data says between 70 and 76% of students who apply get a clerkship by the end of the clerkship season. There's no word on whether or not that is only Art. III or includes state clerkships and non-art. III courts, but I will assume it does, so I'll take the 70% number.

I believe that means for there to be 49 clerks, approx. 70 people (out of the class of 180ish) applied (though, being a law student, math isn't my strength).

That is definitely more than the top 1/3, and it would be a stretch to assume that even all those people are in the top half given the quantity of people who do corporate work/VC/finance, etc.

[IAFG]

No way is this true at Northwestern. Not even close.

[Mal Reynolds]

not positive how responsive this is, but for SLS:

49 individual Art. III clerks in the class of '12 (this is not double counting multiple clerkships)

Career services data says between 70 and 76% of students who apply get a clerkship by the end of the clerkship season. There's no word on whether or not that is only Art. III or includes state clerkships and non-art. III courts, but I will assume it does, so I'll take the 70% number.

I believe that means for there to be 49 clerks, approx. 70 people (out of the class of 180ish) applied (though, being a law student, math isn't my strength).

That is definitely more than the top 1/3, and it would be a stretch to assume that even all those people are in the top half given the quantity of people who do corporate work/VC/finance, etc.

God I love Stanford. WANT.

[johansantana21]

No way this is true at Cornell. Not even close.

[3L Student]

I don't get it.

Why clerk when you can start off with a top firm? Yeah you get a bonus, but you still miss out on about 100k of salary while you're clerking. That is a lot of money, especially when you're paying 7% interest on $200,000 of loans, or when you could have invested it!

And if you're going corporate, from what I've heard, a clerkship isn't that relevant. I can see some of the advantages if you're going lit and you do a district court clerkship.

To me, it seems like it is just another notch in the prestige belt with little benefit.

I'm at a T10 and I felt the urge to apply for clerkships this last summer, but I didn't. I just couldn't see it taking me anywhere further than I was already heading. In a way I felt like there is an immense pressure from fellow students to apply!! Was I wrong to pass up any chance at clerking? Or is my reasoning above pretty accurate?

[djaja]

I'm pretty sure it's because clerking is an amazing opportunity. And it's a lot more than a notch in the belt-- it'll continuously boost your career until you retire. That being said, if you're looking to join up with a firm ASAP and do transactional work until the end of time then you could probably argue that its not worth it. Also, I'm a 1L so I don't know shit. This is just the impression I get from talking with profs, TAs, former clerks, other students, etc.

[Anonymous User]

ya i guess i'm a counterexample. 3L ccn, top 3rd (much higher after 1L), v10 corporate, starting at my firm in the fall. tons of friends with similar grades, firms or interests doing the same (maybe some of them applied for clerkships, but i doubt it). personally, clerking sounds like the most boring, introverted job on earth.

[Julio_El_Chavo]

I don't get it.

Why clerk when you can start off with a top firm? Yeah you get a bonus, but you still miss out on about 100k of salary while you're clerking. That is a lot of money, especially when you're paying 7% interest on $200,000 of loans, or when you could have invested it!

And if you're going corporate, from what I've heard, a clerkship isn't that relevant. I can see some of the advantages if you're going lit and you do a district court clerkship.

To me, it seems like it is just another notch in the prestige belt with little benefit.

I'm at a T10 and I felt the urge to apply for clerkships this last summer, but I didn't. I just couldn't see it taking me anywhere further than I was already heading. In a way I felt like there is an immense pressure from fellow students to apply!! Was I wrong to pass up any chance at clerking? Or is my reasoning above pretty accurate?

I didn't apply either and I'm going into IP litigation. Some people at my firm over the summer encouraged me to apply, but others said it wasn't necessary for IP litigation. It seems like every 3L I know at UVA applied. But then again, I hang out with a lot of LR people, so that might explain it.

[johndhi]

I'm pretty sure it's because clerking is an amazing opportunity. And it's a lot more than a notch in the belt-- it'll continuously boost your career until you retire. That being said, if you're looking to join up with a firm ASAP and do transactional work until the end of time then you could probably argue that its not worth it. Also, I'm a 1L so I don't know shit. This is just the impression I get from talking with profs, TAs, former clerks, other students, etc.

I think this is pretty overstated. A prestigious COA might help you with academia or something, but it isn't a gamechanger. I'm interested in clerking because it gives me another year away from biglaw, which I'm quite afraid of (so many people say it's brutal). I figure if I can "stand" biglaw for 4 years, better to do so in a higher pay range.

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in clerking because it gives me another year away from biglaw, which I'm quite afraid of (so many people say it's brutal). I figure if I can "stand" biglaw for 4 years, better to do so in a higher pay range.

This has been my thinking for a while now

[Anonymous User]

I'm pretty sure it's because clerking is an amazing opportunity. And it's a lot more than a notch in the belt-- it'll continuously boost your career until you retire. That being said, if you're looking to join up with a firm ASAP and do transactional work until the end of time then you could probably argue that its not worth it. Also, I'm a 1L so I don't know shit. This is just the impression I get from talking with profs, TAs, former clerks, other students, etc.

I think this is pretty overstated. A prestigious COA might help you with academia or something, but it isn't a gamechanger. I'm interested in clerking because it gives me another year away from biglaw, which I'm quite afraid of (so many people say it's brutal). I figure if I can "stand" biglaw for 4 years, better to do so in a higher pay range.

More than a few lit associates I talked to thought it was valuable beyond the prestige factor for a number of reasons. One, it lets you learn what an effective brief looks like and what the whole procedure of things (particularly if you clerk for a district court) is like without having to be taught by the firm. Second, there might be some small effect of better work being shuffled towards incoming clerks in biglaw. That probably depends more on the firm, though. Monetarily, though, yea it's a loss.

[IAFG]

amirite? I get that impression at UVA. 13% of the class gets Art III clerkships, but I'm guessing at least 40% of the class applies to Art III clerkships (almost all of the top 1/3 with a few others rolling the dice).

At least 40%. Lots of the top people will not apply, but for everyone of them, two from the bottom half will. That's my experience, at least (both as an applicant and as someone who read apps).

Sounds like you grew up in the bad economy; I wonder what pre-ITE looked like.

[mattviphky]

No way is this true at Northwestern. Not even close.

No way this is true at Cornell. Not even close.

TBF, OP did say T10.