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Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:22 pm
by Anonymous User
Is there any reason to accept an SA offer before a clerkship if the firm will hold the offer open?
Re: Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:06 am
by Emma.
Anonymous User wrote:Is there any reason to accept an SA offer before a clerkship if the firm will hold the offer open?
Bar stipend?
Re: Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:10 am
by Anonymous User
On a related note: is there a good way to figure out which firms do hold offers open throughout a clerkship? Is this the common practice, or do only a select few do it?
Re: Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:50 pm
by newbienew
I'm curious about the answer to this last question. Do firms typically:
1) Get you to accept an offer first, and then just let you defer your start date (while still being bound to go work there later) if you get a clerkship? OR
2) Allow you to wait in deciding whether to accept the offer until the end of your clerkship?
Which of these is the norm? Does it vary? I'd love to get more information on this.
Re: Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 9:58 am
by Anonymous User
My understanding (and the way it works at my firm) is once you accept a clerkship, your firm offer "expires," with the understanding that a new offer will be extended towards the end of your clerkship. Many judges do not allow you to have accepted an offer while clerking, and even if they do it is still probably easier not to.
FWIW, my firm will not pay the bar stipend until you join as an associate following your clerkship.
Re: Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 10:33 am
by Anonymous User
This is not the first time that this has been addressed here... but here it goes:
First, this all generally depends on your judge. Judges can be quite different in their policies. Here's pretty much the different variations:
(a) Your judge does not allow you to have an open offer. You tell your firm this and there is an understanding that the offer will be re-extended towards the end of your clerkship.
(b) Your judge allows you to have an open offer. Your firm extends you an offer and it remains open until the end of your clerkship.
(c) Your judge allows you to accept an offer.
(d) Your judge allows you to accept an offer and to receive money (bar stipend, etc.) from your firm. Even if your judge allows this, you are not permitted to receive a salary advance.
My first judge falls under category (a) and I have no idea about my second judge's policy.
Re: Accept offer before clerkship?
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 1:25 pm
by Anonymous User
Obviously you do whatever your judge prefers. But my judge (and others for whom my friends are clerking) have said they don't care one way or the other and it is up to the clerk. In that case, is there a dis/advantage to one path over others?
Anonymous User wrote:This is not the first time that this has been addressed here... but here it goes:
First, this all generally depends on your judge. Judges can be quite different in their policies. Here's pretty much the different variations:
(a) Your judge does not allow you to have an open offer. You tell your firm this and there is an understanding that the offer will be re-extended towards the end of your clerkship.
(b) Your judge allows you to have an open offer. Your firm extends you an offer and it remains open until the end of your clerkship.
(c) Your judge allows you to accept an offer.
(d) Your judge allows you to accept an offer and to receive money (bar stipend, etc.) from your firm. Even if your judge allows this, you are not permitted to receive a salary advance.
My first judge falls under category (a) and I have no idea about my second judge's policy.