I'm fortunate to have a federal district court clerkship lined up for when I graduate. I'm now considering applying for a state supreme court. For the sake of argument, assume that I'll get it if I apply (not that I'm in any way guaranteed - please don't fight the hypothetical).
I would do it more out of personal interest and a desire to postpone BigLaw (in part for specific personal reasons) than because I think I would gain a significant advantage in practice. Still, I'm curious about (1) how firms would view this (2) whether they'd be likely to give an extra year of class credit and bonus (3) if there are any significant downsides I may not be considering.
Most of the TLS discussions I've seen on this topic are people seeking to use the State SC as a springboard to federal court, but I haven't seen as much about going the other way around.
State SC Clerkship After Federal District? Forum
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JackofLit
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Re: State SC Clerkship After Federal District?
Are you in a big, complex state? I think that matters. If you're in Texas or California or New York/etc., where there are +/- 30 million people, the GDP of Brazil, and more than a dozen regional state appellate "circuits," and you plan to practice there, it could be really valuable, especially long-term.
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Re: State SC Clerkship After Federal District?
General consensus is that if the SSC is in the state you want to practice in, it's a good idea. SSC judges are very well connected, and the appellate work is generally a nice complement to a D. Ct. clerkship. Of course, this also depends on the judge/court, and, in the event you know what firm you're going to, whether they would credit you for the SSC clerkship as well as the D. Ct. If what you care about most is avoiding the monotony of big law, it's a great idea. And to the extent you're worried about it, no, you won't get docked prestige points for having a SSC when you also have a fed ct clerkship.
