Is big law appellate out of reach for anyone who doesn't have a SCOTUS clerkship? I'm clerking at a d. ct. in 2/9/DC and just finished COA in 2/9/DC. One clerkship was with a well-regarded feeder, the other a younger and less well-known judge.
I really prefer appellate practice but don't know how realistic that is early in one's career.
How hard is it to get into a big law appellate practice? Forum
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 432799
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 432799
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: How hard is it to get into a big law appellate practice?
You have the right clerkships. Other prestige indicia (e.g., law school; rank in class; etc.) are all important, too. Given your feeder CoA 2/9/DC clerkship, presumably your resume is top 5% lower T14; top 15% CCN; or top 25% HYS -- so you should have as good a chance as anyone.Anonymous User wrote:Is big law appellate out of reach for anyone who doesn't have a SCOTUS clerkship? I'm clerking at a d. ct. in 2/9/DC and just finished COA in 2/9/DC. One clerkship was with a well-regarded feeder, the other a younger and less well-known judge.
I really prefer appellate practice but don't know how realistic that is early in one's career.
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 432799
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: How hard is it to get into a big law appellate practice?
It also depends on which firm you're going to. If you go someplace like Jones Day DC, where the appellate group is enormous, you've got a better shot (providing all the spots aren't taken up by SCOTUS clerks that year) than if you go to a firm that is good in lit, but doesn't have a large appellate practice.Anonymous User wrote:You have the right clerkships. Other prestige indicia (e.g., law school; rank in class; etc.) are all important, too. Given your feeder CoA 2/9/DC clerkship, presumably your resume is top 5% lower T14; top 15% CCN; or top 25% HYS -- so you should have as good a chance as anyone.Anonymous User wrote:Is big law appellate out of reach for anyone who doesn't have a SCOTUS clerkship? I'm clerking at a d. ct. in 2/9/DC and just finished COA in 2/9/DC. One clerkship was with a well-regarded feeder, the other a younger and less well-known judge.
I really prefer appellate practice but don't know how realistic that is early in one's career.
ETA: but yes, you definitely have the *right* clerkships. If a firm has room in their appellate practice, you're exactly the kind of candidate they'd want.
