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I've accepted a V20 offer in a major market, and I've missed the boat for clerking. Would working for the v20 firm for a few years and then clerking in a federal district court give me a good shot at lateraling to a firm like Boies? Is the clerkship really necessary for lateraling to a smaller lit boutique (I imagine the sudden pay cut as a clerk would suck)?

Anonymous User wrote:I've accepted a V20 offer in a major market, and I've missed the boat for clerking. Would working for the v20 firm for a few years and then clerking in a federal district court give me a good shot at lateraling to a firm like Boies? Is the clerkship really necessary for lateraling to a smaller lit boutique (I imagine the sudden pay cut as a clerk would suck)?

BSF is not a boutique.

That being said, your proposed route (V20-clerk-boutique) is certainly doable. Just depends on what boutique we are talking about.

My judge only hires alums, and we've all had biglaw experience. It seems like the plurality return to their old firms, with the next biggest cohort going to a boutique, then AUSAs, then academia.

Anonymous User wrote:I've accepted a V20 offer in a major market, and I've missed the boat for clerking. Would working for the v20 firm for a few years and then clerking in a federal district court give me a good shot at lateraling to a firm like Boies? Is the clerkship really necessary for lateraling to a smaller lit boutique (I imagine the sudden pay cut as a clerk would suck)?

One year at a firm -> clerk is very common. You could do more years at a firm, but that's less common.

If you clerk after working at a firm, you'll actually be paid more. I've heard from former clerks how they would work side-by-side with their co-clerks doing the exact same work, but co-clerk who had been in private practice for 2 years was making like 10-15k more because of how federal compensation works (note she have been exaggerating the difference in pay, but there is a difference). For that reason, some people argue that going to a firm first is actually the preferable route.

KidStuddi wrote:If you clerk after working at a firm, you'll actually be paid more. I've heard from former clerks how they would work side-by-side with their co-clerks doing the exact same work, but co-clerk who had been in private practice for 2 years was making like 10-15k more because of how federal compensation works (note she have been exaggerating the difference in pay, but there is a difference). For that reason, some people argue that going to a firm first is actually the preferable route.

No, the pay difference isn't an exaggeration. Entry level (in my locality) is ~$56K and the next step up is $68K.