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My sense is that the average COA clerkship bonus is 50k. The average for Fed. Cir. clerks is 70k.

Anonymous User wrote:My sense is that the average COA clerkship bonus is 50k. The average for Fed. Cir. clerks is 70k.

Wow I hadn't heard Fed. Cir. is a higher bonus. Isn't Fed. Cir. hiring less selective than 2/9/DC?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:My sense is that the average COA clerkship bonus is 50k. The average for Fed. Cir. clerks is 70k.

Wow I hadn't heard Fed. Cir. is a higher bonus. Isn't Fed. Cir. hiring less selective than 2/9/DC?

Bonuses aren't based on the selectivity of the judge's hiring. Bonuses are based on the perceived skill set that the clerks bring. If some firms believe that fed circuit clerks bring a more unique and valuable skill set (as I'm sure they do for patent litigation), then firms will pay a premium for those clerks.

ETA - I have no idea about the actual bonuses for fed circuit clerks, rather refuting the "selectivity" theory.

I don't think bankruptcy court clerks ever get bonuses.

vamedic03 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:My sense is that the average COA clerkship bonus is 50k. The average for Fed. Cir. clerks is 70k.

Wow I hadn't heard Fed. Cir. is a higher bonus. Isn't Fed. Cir. hiring less selective than 2/9/DC?

Bonuses aren't based on the selectivity of the judge's hiring. Bonuses are based on the perceived skill set that the clerks bring. If some firms believe that fed circuit clerks bring a more unique and valuable skill set (as I'm sure they do for patent litigation), then firms will pay a premium for those clerks.

ETA - I have no idea about the actual bonuses for fed circuit clerks, rather refuting the "selectivity" theory.

Bonuses are set by the market. Most Fed. Cir. clerks have worked at a firm for a few years before their clerkships. Thus, they must forego 200kish of income rather than 160k to take the clerkship. Firms want people who have done Fed. Cir. clerkships, so they have to offer bigger bonuses to entice Fed. Cir. clerks. I cannot confirm or deny these rumors, but to me, they make sense.

ummmmmmm.... There are no skills one picks up at the fed cir.. No demand for em either

Anonymous User wrote:ummmmmmm.... There are no skills one picks up at the fed cir.. No demand for em either

elite IP litigator bro!

Paul, Weiss lawyers who join the firm directly after completing a judicial clerkship will receive a bonus of $50,000. Individuals who have completed a clerkship of two years or more, or have completed two or more years of clerkships, will receive a $70,000 bonus.

From their website. Stumbled across it and thought it might be somewhat useful for this thread.

Anonymous User wrote:ummmmmmm.... There are no skills one picks up at the fed cir.. No demand for em either

Incorrect and not helpful.

Covington pays $50k for any federal or state supreme clerkship. (Isn't this pretty much the standard?)

baherber wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:ummmmmmm.... There are no skills one picks up at the fed cir.. No demand for em either

Incorrect and not helpful.

Also, an inappropriate use of the "Anon" feature... which has since been corrected.

Are clerkship bonuses at a NY V5 the same for 1-year state supreme court versus federal district court?

Anonymous User wrote:Are clerkship bonuses at a NY V5 the same for 1-year state supreme court versus federal district court?

This info is generally provided by your firm and often available on their websites (i.e. the Paul Weiss post above, see also SullCrom). I know during my research of firms that while the 50k number for 1 year, and 70k for two years seemed pretty standard for the top firms, they did vary on whether those bonuses were offered for fed district/coa + ssc or only for federal dist/coa.

Anonymous User wrote:I don't think bankruptcy court clerks ever get bonuses.

Really? I would think that strong bankr. firms would pay for this; not even Weil or K&E?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I don't think bankruptcy court clerks ever get bonuses.

Really? I would think that strong bankr. firms would pay for this; not even Weil or K&E?

I thought big firms gave bonuses for bankruptcy clerkships, especially if they give them out for state supreme court clerkships?

peter2009 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I don't think bankruptcy court clerks ever get bonuses.

Really? I would think that strong bankr. firms would pay for this; not even Weil or K&E?

I thought big firms gave bonuses for bankruptcy clerkships, especially if they give them out for state supreme court clerkships?

Did some superficial googling and it looks like at least Milbank and Kramer Levin pay out for bankruptcy clerkships. They both have strong bankruptcy practices. Maybe firms do a case-by-case determination to make sure they're in relevant circuits?

anyone know what ropes & gray offers?

what about jenner & block?

Anonymous User wrote:Are clerkship bonuses at a NY V5 the same for 1-year state supreme court versus federal district court?

I'm an SSC and our ex-clerks have all gotten market at firms up and down the Vault. For most firms, the bonus is the same (including V5), but there are a few outliers that seem to be adverse to SSC's for whatever reason. Quinn makes it very clear on their website that the bonus is federal clerks only, as a consequence I can't think of a single ex-clerk who went there (--LinkRemoved--).