Top Law Schools

I am trying to stay anonymous, so I apologize if this is too imprecise. I accepted an offer to join my firm's corporate group despite being very conflicted in the lit v. corp decision. Throughout my 3L year I have determined that I made a mistake and would rather go with lit. I asked to change and was told no. Would it be a giveaway of my intention to change groups and/or firms if I let my firm know I am interested in clerking after a year (basically using the clerkship as a transition to lit)? Is there any reason my firm would find out/I should tell them? I am about to push send on applications for the 2021-2022 year, so I am interested in how to handle this with the firm. FWIW I repeatedly mentioned my interest in clerking over the summer.

....why on earth would you mention wanting to clerk in 2021-22 now?

OP here.

I apologize if my initial post was misunderstood or sounds too presumptuous. I am not trying to leverage anything. I am basically worried that, if I am lucky enough to get any interviews or be considered, will a chambers call the firm to confirm my resume, or is there any way for them to know that I would be leaving 1 year in. I really don't want to cause any waves before I start. I am lucky that I will be able to pay all my debt after 1 year at a firm, so I definitely do not want to jeopardize that job at all! I guess my dilemma is should I let them know this is my plan now, or just wait until I've been there for almost a year and say, if I am lucky to land a clerking gig, that I am leaving?

I don't think there's any reason to tell them ahead of time. I also don't think a judge would call them up, unless there's an actual connection (like the judge knows someone there you've worked with). If you get a clerkship, it will be far enough in advance of a start date that you will have plenty of time to tell them.

Besides, you repeatedly told them you were interested in clerking and you've asked to switch to lit. No one is going to be shocked by your choice.

People clerk after 1-2 years in biglaw all the time, it's not going to be an issue, hit send already.

PeanutsNJam wrote:People clerk after 1-2 years in biglaw all the time, it's not going to be an issue, hit send already.

Sure, but those people are typically not corporate attorneys.

KMart wrote:

PeanutsNJam wrote:People clerk after 1-2 years in biglaw all the time, it's not going to be an issue, hit send already.

Sure, but those people are typically not corporate attorneys.

It's unusual, but it's not unheard of for corporate attorneys to clerk, especially if they were hired as a 1L or 2L before they officially became a corporate attorney. At my firm, there are a handful of corporate attorneys who clerked after a year of working. They still got the clerkship bonus but did not get class year credit, so they came back as a second-year corporate attorney. I talked to a few of them when I was a SA and they still felt that the experience was worth it even if it was a little inconvenient.

I'm going into a regulatory group at my firm (which I know is not corporate but also not necessarily lit) before clerking for 2 years and my firm didn't think anything of it. One partner even wrote a recommendation letter knowing I would be starting at the firm then leaving after the first year. Things might be different in corporate but I just emailed our recruiting department and let them know once I got the clerkships. You should definitely send in apps. You can return to the firm in the lit group or go to a different firm after your clerkship.

nixy wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:05 pm

I don't think there's any reason to tell them ahead of time. I also don't think a judge would call them up, unless there's an actual connection (like the judge knows someone there you've worked with). If you get a clerkship, it will be far enough in advance of a start date that you will have plenty of time to tell them.

Besides, you repeatedly told them you were interested in clerking and you've asked to switch to lit. No one is going to be shocked by your choice.

not OP. in my case (similar to OP), a judge indeed called them up and then didn't offer me a clerkship. Haven't talked to the firm since, but I guess the cat is out of the bag. Would rather that not have been the case in this economy.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:50 pm

nixy wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:05 pm

I don't think there's any reason to tell them ahead of time. I also don't think a judge would call them up, unless there's an actual connection (like the judge knows someone there you've worked with). If you get a clerkship, it will be far enough in advance of a start date that you will have plenty of time to tell them.

Besides, you repeatedly told them you were interested in clerking and you've asked to switch to lit. No one is going to be shocked by your choice.

not OP. in my case (similar to OP), a judge indeed called them up and then didn't offer me a clerkship. Haven't talked to the firm since, but I guess the cat is out of the bag. Would rather that not have been the case in this economy.

Tha is very, very surprising. Did the judge ask you for a reference and did you indeed provide one? If so, not surprising.

On the other hand, if you work at Davis Polk or something and the asshole judge randomly called up the global head of corporate or whatever, that's ridiculous and extraordinary.

Wild Card wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:00 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:50 pm

nixy wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:05 pm

I don't think there's any reason to tell them ahead of time. I also don't think a judge would call them up, unless there's an actual connection (like the judge knows someone there you've worked with). If you get a clerkship, it will be far enough in advance of a start date that you will have plenty of time to tell them.

Besides, you repeatedly told them you were interested in clerking and you've asked to switch to lit. No one is going to be shocked by your choice.

not OP. in my case (similar to OP), a judge indeed called them up and then didn't offer me a clerkship. Haven't talked to the firm since, but I guess the cat is out of the bag. Would rather that not have been the case in this economy.

Tha is very, very surprising. Did the judge ask you for a reference and did you indeed provide one? If so, not surprising.

On the other hand, if you work at Davis Polk or something and the asshole judge randomly called up the global head of corporate or whatever, that's ridiculous and extraordinary.

I agree that this would be unusual, unless you listed someone as a reference, or, as mentioned, the judge actually already knows someone there. It sucks that that happened, and it's a risk, but I still don't think it justifies telling them ahead of time.

(anon whose interviewing Judge called firm)

The Judge was really nice and I thought the interview went well. He knew people at the firm and reached out on his own pre-interview (I did not provide the reference). As mentioned, I suppose that is always a risk (you never know who knows who) and I agree that I wouldn't preempt such info. Would just feel better about it if I got the job and the economy wasn't in shambles.