Clerkship Chances from CCN Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi All,

I am currently a 2L at a CCN. Here are the relevant stats:
GPA = ~3.6 (3.3 curve, so i assume about 20%);
no law review, but one of the sought after secondary journals (whatever that means); v10 SA offer;
various other extra-curriculars.

What are my chances of landing something in SDNY/EDNY. My hometown is NY, so no minor market for me, although I would not be opposed to DNJ.

How about NY Court of Appeals? I think that would be a great gig, but I am not sure how feasible it is to land a clerkship there.

Also, I would not be opposed to working for a year or two prior to clerking.

[ndirish2010]

I'm not great at this, but I don't think you would have a great shot at SDNY. Not sure about EDNY. You'd have a good shot of getting a clerkship somewhere (probably not in a terrible district), but SDNY is brutal.

Not really sure about NY COA either.

[Pokemon]

You are not at Chicago, but 3.6 means completely different things at Columbia (way above 20% from what people have told me) in relation to NYU.

[theaccidentalclerk]

You are not at Chicago

This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine -- people that say they have a "3.XX from a CCN." Well, Chicago doesn't grade on a 4 point scale and the grades really aren't convertible (is a 178 a B or B+? is a 181 an A- or A?), so just say you are at Columbia or NYU. (A close second is people that say they graduated cum laude or magna or summa from a T6. Um, only two of the top six schools award latin honors.)

Anyway, now that the kids have gotten off of my yard, OP -- I'd think you'd have good success applying as an alum (assuming Stone/cum laude, top firm, probably a board position at a secondary) in a couple of years. Even in SDNY -- yes, it's very competitive, but many of the judges in the district only hire experienced clerks, and the applicant pool drops significantly for alum-only judges.

[Anonymous User]

Hi All,

I am currently a 2L at a CCN. Here are the relevant stats:
GPA = ~3.6 (3.3 curve, so i assume about 20%);
no law review, but one of the sought after secondary journals (whatever that means); v10 SA offer;
various other extra-curriculars.

What are my chances of landing something in SDNY/EDNY. My hometown is NY, so no minor market for me, although I would not be opposed to DNJ.

How about NY Court of Appeals? I think that would be a great gig, but I am not sure how feasible it is to land a clerkship there.


Also, I would not be opposed to working for a year or two prior to clerking.

I am a 3L, and I estimate between 10-15% at MVPB (which I would guess is about equivalent to 20% at CCN?) and I got a DNJ clerkship, FWIW, since you said you wouldn't be opposed to it. My other credentials are very similar to yours. I also got an offer in EDPA. I didn't apply to EDNY/SDNY though.

[Anonymous User]

I agree with the comment about applying as an alumni. Your stats are solid, but SDNY is a crap shoot. YOu'll have a much better chance if you work at big firm for a while and apply off-plan. At that point you can be a little more selective and test SDNY, then work your way out to the flyover districts (DNJ DConn NDNY EDPA) if you don't hear anything.

EDIT: BTW SDNY Clerkship in 2013 - Lower T14 around 20%, but with firm experience.

[Anonymous User]

OP I assume you are at NYU based on comments above about GPA systems.

Just go to the PILC office, pick up a copy of the clerkship handbook, and look at the dozens of tables of average GPA for each district where NYU grads have gotten an interview. Seriously it is even broken down by city in some places.

This is more detail than TLS can provide.

[Anonymous User]

OP I assume you are at NYU based on comments above about GPA systems.

Just go to the PILC office, pick up a copy of the clerkship handbook, and look at the dozens of tables of average GPA for each district where NYU grads have gotten an interview. Seriously it is even broken down by city in some places.

This is more detail than TLS can provide.

You can also find this on Symplicity.

OP, based on my recollection, I would say that you'd be competitive for the more selective district clerkships and also the less selective COA clerkships (though the 2nd Circuit will be an uphill battle).

Since you're not on LR, make sure that you have a polished writing sample and glowing letters of recommendation.

[Anonymous User]

OP I assume you are at NYU based on comments above about GPA systems.

Just go to the PILC office, pick up a copy of the clerkship handbook, and look at the dozens of tables of average GPA for each district where NYU grads have gotten an interview. Seriously it is even broken down by city in some places.

This is more detail than TLS can provide.

You can also find this on Symplicity.

OP, based on my recollection, I would say that you'd be competitive for the more selective district clerkships and also the less selective COA clerkships (though the 2nd Circuit will be an uphill battle).

Since you're not on LR, make sure that you have a polished writing sample and glowing letters of recommendation.

From my experience and those I know personally who applied for clerkships in competitive districts and circuits at NYU, the recommendations of "competitiveness" given by OCS tend to be pretty inflated. That being said, theres no reason not to apply other than the work it takes.

[GeePee]

Keep trying to improve those grades. I struck out in the NY metro area from neighborhood of top 15% at HYS. Start talking about clerkships now with any professor or professional contact that you are on good terms with and will listen. If they have you in mind, they could go to bat for you when they hear something through the grapevine. I did this to some extent, but I could have done it more.