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District and Magistrate judges are both good to intern for. As long as the judges have the same mentalities towards interns, the workload and work type will be essentially the same (the district judge doesn't give the big cases to interns). However, the district judge internship will attract more and better attention from employers, and all else being equal, will help you stand out when it comes time to get that first job. Personally, because we are really only talking about a "hassle" here, in the long term I'd thank myself for taking the position that ultimately was better for my career.

Its Article III judge vs. non-Article III judge. Go with the Article III judge, damn the hassle. Magistrate judges are excellent internships, don't get me wrong, but I'd say don't take one with a Magistrate unless you strike out with a district court.

This really isn't as simple as Art. III vs. non Art. III. Internships generally are not that big of a deal to employers, at least as "resume boosters," so you should not really focus on the title alone. You really want to take a couple things from an internship: (a) A Good writing sample (if not that, then some kind of tangible experience that you can tout), (b) a good reference, and (c) a proven interest in an area of law. Since they both satisfy (c), then you should only think about the experience you can take with you and the value of the judge as a reference. For (a), the amount of substantive work you get to do will vary from judge to judge, but in IP litigation you may get great experience at the magistrate level, because discovery issues in IP cases are really at the forefront of emerging issues these days. For (b), you should take into account whether the judge is well-connected or well-known in the geographical area you want to work. A lot of your value to a future private or government employer will be your insights into that judge, and being able to rely that judge's recommendation because your future employer knows the judge and worked with him or her in the past.

Total Litigator wrote:the district judge internship will attract more and better attention from employers, and all else being equal, will help you stand out when it comes time to get that first job.

+1. Especially if one of the reasons you want to work for the district court judge is that he has a major and well-known IP lit docket.

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Also, I wasn't able to discern whether either have a policy of not-hiring former interns as clerks. I have no idea if I could even in the running for a clerkship, but it was something a few professors said I should consider. Any advice on how to get this information w/o seeming like a summer gunner?

OP, I'm pretty sure I know who you are talking about --- PM me and I can answer your questions.