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Hey all, can any former clerks offer some advice about finding post clerkship employment? What is the timeframe? Did you use a recruiter? Any general advice is appreciated.

insideman wrote:Hey all, can any former clerks offer some advice about finding post clerkship employment? What is the timeframe? Did you use a recruiter? Any general advice is appreciated.

Come around spring you should start receiving letters from firms looking to interview or discuss your interest in joining them.

I had a job lined up before clerking and most of clerks I knew did as well, and for those with judges that didn't let then accept employment during a clerkship they had open offers.

I have never heard of a clerk using a headhunter.

Former flyover district court clerk here. I didn't get any recruiting letters from firms. I started mailing out cold resumes to biglaw firms I was interested in around late March/ early April. You'd probably be better off starting a little earlier than that, like maybe February. I got the sense that I started relatively late in the game, though I'm not sure how it affected my chances. I probably sent about 20 resumes and got 5 or so callbacks. The process went much smoother than I expected, especially since I was no offered as a 2L. That said, I'm in IP lit, which probably made things easier.

Anonymous User wrote:Former flyover district court clerk here. I didn't get any recruiting letters from firms. I started mailing out cold resumes to biglaw firms I was interested in around late March/ early April. You'd probably be better off starting a little earlier than that, like maybe February. I got the sense that I started relatively late in the game, though I'm not sure how it affected my chances. I probably sent about 20 resumes and got 5 or so callbacks. The process went much smoother than I expected, especially since I was no offered as a 2L. That said, I'm in IP lit, which probably made things easier.

To the IP lit former law clerk:
Which state were you clerking in?
What is your tech bg?
What is your law school?

I ask because I am also a clerk interested in IP lit. I did not work as a summer associate between 2L and 3L years for personal reasons but am just now sending out my resume to firms. I also have received no recruiting letters to date. But maybe that will change.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Former flyover district court clerk here. I didn't get any recruiting letters from firms. I started mailing out cold resumes to biglaw firms I was interested in around late March/ early April. You'd probably be better off starting a little earlier than that, like maybe February. I got the sense that I started relatively late in the game, though I'm not sure how it affected my chances. I probably sent about 20 resumes and got 5 or so callbacks. The process went much smoother than I expected, especially since I was no offered as a 2L. That said, I'm in IP lit, which probably made things easier.

To the IP lit former law clerk:
Which state were you clerking in?
What is your tech bg?
What is your law school?

I ask because I am also a clerk interested in IP lit. I did not work as a summer associate between 2L and 3L years for personal reasons but am just now sending out my resume to firms. I also have received no recruiting letters to date. But maybe that will change.

Clerked in a state in the deep south with no big law firm presence. T10 law school/ top 1/3ish. EE undergrad, no industry experience.

insideman wrote:Hey all, can any former clerks offer some advice about finding post clerkship employment? What is the timeframe? Did you use a recruiter? Any general advice is appreciated.

My post-DCt job search is probably most relevant to you. I sent (snail-mailed, unsolicited) applications to my top-choice BigLaw and boutique firms in my CA market in February of my clerkship year. Radio silence for two weeks. Then a flurry of phone calls for interviews over the next week from six of the seven firms I targeted. With one exception (that wanted two rounds of interviews), the firms wanted just one round of interviews, which were structured like 2L callback interviews (i.e., a 3-5 hour interview in which I met 6-8 attorneys from the firm, usually with interview lunch included.) Offers came in March, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 weeks after the conclusion of the interview.

I did not use a recruiter. Unless you have pre-clerkship associate experience, you would be coming in as a second-year associate and likely will not want a substantial fee attached to your candidacy.

Any good examples or sources on cover letters for law clerks applying to law firms? I'm struggling with how to write about my clerkship experience. I never had to write memos since my judge just signed the opinions and orders that I wrote up. Guess I am having trouble spinning that in the cover letter without expressly saying that I wrote everything rather than the judge.

I did not use a recruiter. Unless you have pre-clerkship associate experience, you would be coming in as a second-year associate and likely will not want a substantial fee attached to your candidacy.

This makes me wonder. My job search is a ways off, but when it's time, I'm curious what I should do. I have a good bit of experience (5+ years), both with biglaw and the government. (I'm clerking late-in-life because my spouse got a temporary job in a different market, plus I had some thought that I could parlay the clerkship into an academic job -- though that market is now so miserable that this seems unlikely). My government experience includes a bunch of "sexy" work, including a good bit of trial and appellate work, often as lead or co-lead counsel. I could go back, but to be honest, even pre-clerkship I was a bit tired of "slumming" it in the public sector -- I'd like to pursue more lucrative options now if possible (and I realize that it might not be).

My thought was just to call the firms that I worked with or against to see if they are interested in having me on as a senior associate or "of counsel" with an appropriate look-see period before any partnership decision. But maybe a recruiter would be advisable? Aside from being a little long in the tooth, my credentials are pretty decent -- very good grades from a T6, federal clerkship, left my stint at a V20 in good standing, my government experience resulted in multiple published decisions, and I've published several articles in both industry journals and academic law reviews. The only thing I don't have is a book of business.

Anonymous User wrote:

I did not use a recruiter. Unless you have pre-clerkship associate experience, you would be coming in as a second-year associate and likely will not want a substantial fee attached to your candidacy.

This makes me wonder. My job search is a ways off, but when it's time, I'm curious what I should do. I have a good bit of experience (5+ years), both with biglaw and the government. (I'm clerking late-in-life because my spouse got a temporary job in a different market, plus I had some thought that I could parlay the clerkship into an academic job -- though that market is now so miserable that this seems unlikely). My government experience includes a bunch of "sexy" work, including a good bit of trial and appellate work, often as lead or co-lead counsel. I could go back, but to be honest, even pre-clerkship I was a bit tired of "slumming" it in the public sector -- I'd like to pursue more lucrative options now if possible (and I realize that it might not be).

My thought was just to call the firms that I worked with or against to see if they are interested in having me on as a senior associate or "of counsel" with an appropriate look-see period before any partnership decision. But maybe a recruiter would be advisable? Aside from being a little long in the tooth, my credentials are pretty decent -- very good grades from a T6, federal clerkship, left my stint at a V20 in good standing, my government experience resulted in multiple published decisions, and I've published several articles in both industry journals and academic law reviews. The only thing I don't have is a book of business.

In your situation, I would use a recruiter. You have prior firm experience and great academic credentials. You will have no problems looking for a job on your own, but a recruiter would know more about job options that meet what you are looking for. You can be a bit more selective with your job hunt, so you should have a recruiter look based on the criteria you are looking for.