Found out very recently that my firm deferred start dates until late first-quarter 2013. Just took the bar exam. I am very interested in doing a federal or state supreme court clerkship for a year, which my firm would encourage, provided I could get the job at this point. I have heard that some judges hire clerks at the last minute, and was wondering how/where I could find out this information. I'm not fussy as to location. Any ideas? Is this realistic at all? I just don't want to sit around for another 8 months.
Stats are good: magna cum laude at a T10, published, secondary journal. I have recommenders already, as I was/am going to apply for a 2013 clerkship.
Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR Forum
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Anonymous User
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Anonymous User
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
Look for recently confirmed judges. If you can get your firm to pay for the year, you can apply even more widely. Many state court judges, in particular, would love to have a free clerk.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
Thanks. Any idea any resources/methods for doing this? (I'd ask my CSO, but they are useless)Anonymous User wrote:Look for recently confirmed judges. If you can get your firm to pay for the year, you can apply even more widely. Many state court judges, in particular, would love to have a free clerk.
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ggocat
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
Michigan law's website has/had a good list or link to official list of confirmation status of appointed fed judges.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
And then just send them a cover letter? Is there any appropriate way to first ask whether they are accepting clerks for 2012-13?
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Anonymous User
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
No, have a professor call the judge.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
Seriously? Not sure this is an option for me.Anonymous User wrote:No, have a professor call the judge.
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madame defarge
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
If the judge has set up chambers, chances are there is an assistant/secretary who can answer that question. Having a professor call seems like overkill at the information-gathering stage.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
If you're just trying to find out who has openings, a professor doesn't need to call. Previous clerking threads have suggested it's perfectly acceptable to call up chambers yourself to ask this question. You don't need to identify yourself when doing so.
Off the top of my head, I would assume Judge Watford on the 9th is the most prestigious recently confirmed judge. He was confirmed in late May, so not too long ago. No clue as to whether he has clerks for this year already, but he may. That said, LR from a T10 should be a pretty compelling candidate this late in the game. Definitely going to need your professors to make some calls if you do find any openings if you want to have a shot at such a quick turnaround.
Edit: Sorry, read wrong initially and thought you had LR. Still a good candidate though for anyone who has openings, as I can't imagine judges who are hiring this late in the game can be as picky (that is total speculation however).
Off the top of my head, I would assume Judge Watford on the 9th is the most prestigious recently confirmed judge. He was confirmed in late May, so not too long ago. No clue as to whether he has clerks for this year already, but he may. That said, LR from a T10 should be a pretty compelling candidate this late in the game. Definitely going to need your professors to make some calls if you do find any openings if you want to have a shot at such a quick turnaround.
Edit: Sorry, read wrong initially and thought you had LR. Still a good candidate though for anyone who has openings, as I can't imagine judges who are hiring this late in the game can be as picky (that is total speculation however).
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lolwat
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Re: Applying to Clerk now for THIS YEAR
If the openings came up due to clerks leaving for emergency reasons, that's one thing. If it's a newly confirmed judge, they usually still have their pick of who to hire--and to my knowledge, they usually end up hiring people that have prior clerkship experience over those who just graduated. I believe Judge Watford only posted openings starting in July 2013, and had no openings posted starting in 2012. I can't be entirely sure of that, though, and also can't be sure that this means he isn't hiring for 2012--a call to chambers to confirm would be the best way of finding this out.Edit: Sorry, read wrong initially and thought you had LR. Still a good candidate though for anyone who has openings, as I can't imagine judges who are hiring this late in the game can be as picky (that is total speculation however).
But, yes. First stop, go to OSCAR and search for any judges with openings listed for 2012. Unlikely any are open, but worth a quick search. Even if they are listed as open I would call chambers just to make sure it's not because they were too lazy to update their OSCAR openings. After that, look for newly confirmed judges and call up chambers. If you can't find chambers number, just call the general number for that courthouse and ask for the direct number for the chambers of judge ___. Then call the chambers and ask.
