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Anyone have any thoughts on how to fill a one-year gap between graduation and Art. III clerkship? Have looked into lots of 1-year fellowships, which seem to be my best bet, but am wondering if there's anything else out there besides these fellowships and going to a big firm (which I have been advised would be doable but a slightly tough sell given my PI resume and lack of OCI and departure in 1 year, and which also just doesn't really move the ball for me in terms of my long-term goals).

2L at HYS, top 20%, didn't do OCI; going to spend 2L summer at public interest employer that rarely hires straight-out. Lots of public interest and plaintiff's firm experience pre- and during law school; focused on NYC and greater NYC area. Long term goals are private public interest/national non-profit/gov lawyer work.

Thanks!

andale andale momma PI PI uh ohhhhhhhhhh. what's happenin now?

I think one-year fellowships are by far your best bet to fill such a temporary gap. (Trying to get an entry level job with the intention of ditching it after a year seems so not ideal. And like maybe you could apply to the kinds of places you would be interested in working after your clerkship and see if they would be interested in you having on board after your clerkship too, but that seems like a really difficult request for most nonprofits and even most private public interest given funding restrictions and irregular/unpredictable hiring schedules. You could also try to get a clerkship to precede the one you already have, maybe a less prestigious position like a magistrate or state court or one of those vacancies that opens up at the last minute on OSCAR, but that's probably not your best or most reliable bet.)

Plenty of private public interest firms hire fellows for one year (ranging the spectrum from Relman Dane & Colfax and Goldstein Borgen to less established firms that try to pay you in skittles). And then in addition to national nonprofits like the ACLU several local labor unions and community-based nonprofits also hire fellows. Aim for experience that will support your post-clerkship job applications and keep an eye out for random postings, and you should be fine.

k5220 wrote:I think one-year fellowships are by far your best bet to fill such a temporary gap. (Trying to get an entry level job with the intention of ditching it after a year seems so not ideal. And like maybe you could apply to the kinds of places you would be interested in working after your clerkship and see if they would be interested in you having on board after your clerkship too, but that seems like a really difficult request for most nonprofits and even most private public interest given funding restrictions and irregular/unpredictable hiring schedules. You could also try to get a clerkship to precede the one you already have, maybe a less prestigious position like a magistrate or state court or one of those vacancies that opens up at the last minute on OSCAR, but that's probably not your best or most reliable bet.)

Plenty of private public interest firms hire fellows for one year (ranging the spectrum from Relman Dane & Colfax and Goldstein Borgen to less established firms that try to pay you in skittles). And then in addition to national nonprofits like the ACLU several local labor unions and community-based nonprofits also hire fellows. Aim for experience that will support your post-clerkship job applications and keep an eye out for random postings, and you should be fine.

OP here. thanks, this is helpful.