How much will a magistrate clerkship help me? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am a 2L in the top ~33% at a top 25 school with an ID SA position lined up for the summer - it was the best I could get in OCI. I don't want to do ID after graduation (I'd rather do mid/big-law), so I am considering a federal magistrate clerkship after graduation as a way to trade up to mid/big-law following the clerkship. Would the clerkship help me get mid/big-law (if so, how much?) or should I just accept a post-graduation ID offer then apply to other firms?

[Anonymous User]

It will help a ton and as a practical matter likely be more useful than District Court.

[bokampers]

It will be a good learning experience and give you a leg up on routine litigation practice. I think it makes a lot of sense in your scenario — I.e., as an escape from ID. There will be plenty of firms, big law included, that will see a mag clerkship as a positive, especially if you can speak intelligently about your time and take-aways from it.

That said, keep in mind that there is indeed a very big difference in perception between a mag clerkship and one with a district court judge. The “prestige” of the latter alone nearly guarantees big law if you want it and lands you a high five-figure bonus in most cases. The former is much more black box in both job prospects and bonus expectations. I’ve heard of instances where mag clerks got nice sign-on bonuses, virtually equivalent to their “higher” court counterparts, but have also heard of situations where mag clerkships were “not eligible” for any bonus at all. It seems that many firms are more likely to consider it on a case-by-case basis.

Regardless, if I were you and had the option between a mag clerkship vs a ID associate gig straight out of law school, I’d 100% go the clerkship route. I think it is a low risk gamble* that would likely pay off.


* and it is really only a gamble if you’d make more money at the ID firm that year than you would at the clerkship. But even then, any “lost” income would likely be recovered in multiples if you manage to pivot to a big law firm that pays you a clerkship bonus. Not to mention long term career prospects.

[Anonymous User]

USMJ clerkships are quite selective, as the judges prefer applicants with exceptional academic performance and/or substantial work experience. Same as mid/biglaw, really.

An ideal path would be two years of ID, a USMJ clerkship, and then hit the market.

If you go straight into a USMJ clerkship as a "top 33%" from a "T25," you'll struggle to find employment afterward, as meaningful and rewarding as the experience may be.

[jotarokujo]

USMJ clerkships are quite selective, as the judges prefer applicants with exceptional academic performance and/or substantial work experience. Same as mid/biglaw, really.

An ideal path would be two years of ID, a USMJ clerkship, and then hit the market.

If you go straight into a USMJ clerkship as a "top 33%" from a "T25," you'll struggle to find employment afterward, as meaningful and rewarding as the experience may be.

i disagree with the proposed path there. why waste two years at ID. if OP goes straight to magistrate clerkship, they are pretty guaranteed to get midlaw and have a strong (>50%) chance at biglaw, though maybe without a bonus

[crazywafflez]

I also disagree with the work two years then USMJ approach. I'd urge you to pick it over the ID shop, do your year with the MJ and network and see what happens. I've also seen MJ clerkships turn into Dist Ct ones as well.
If you can get a clerkship w/ MJ take it prior to doing firm work.

[CanadianWolf]

Insurance defense is close to bottom of the barrel work.

Federal magistrate judge clerkship experience is incredibly valuable for litigation.

The problem is that you have an offer for one, but not for the other.

[Anonymous User]

A federal magistrate clerkship will absolutely help, especially from a prestigious district (south district of new york, northern district of ca, etc.)

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thank you all for the insightful responses. Given my stats, I understand it will be tough to get a magistrate offer and even harder to get one from a district judge. If neither pans out, would a state appellate clerkship (non-state supreme court) be of any benefit idea in my situation? How much of a benefit?

[Anonymous User]

Insurance defense is close to bottom of the barrel work.

Federal magistrate judge clerkship experience is incredibly valuable for litigation.

The problem is that you have an offer for one, but not for the other.

Former ID lawyer here. ID is "bottom of the barrel" strictly from the prestige perspective. In terms of real world experience, it's actually superior to being a memo monkey in biglaw. Within my first 4 years of ID practice, I finished one jury trial as lead counsel, maybe 15 or so oral arguments in live court on hotly contested motions (including motions for summary judgment), and about a hundred depositions. That said, do not discount the prestige problem. It's there in black and white in the above snobby comment. "Close to bottom of the barrel." That's what lawyers actually do think.

If you do land a fed mag clerkship, I would still urge you to stick with it for up to 2 years if you can. Biglaw work and ID work are soulless pits of hell because of the hours. While you will at least get real world experience through ID, 2 years is not really enough to make your application stand out to midlaw or biglaw hiring partners. With more years in you can start to build a good reputation and notch a few litigation achievements to put on your resume. Doing it in 2 is tough. You might impress a hiring partner more with the 2 years of fed mag experience.

Note: If you go the fed mag route, consider targeting law firms that have heavy federal court dockets. Not all biglaw offices do.

[crazywafflez]

You should talk to your school's CDO office about state app clerkships. In my state those would still be good to an extent, and certainly interesting in their own right, but the reasons MJs are so good is because of the litigation practical xp. A state app clerkship doesn't give you that, but you may still get the benefit of having a judge in your corner etc.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thank you all for the insightful responses. Given my stats, I understand it will be tough to get a magistrate offer and even harder to get one from a district judge. If neither pans out, would a state appellate clerkship (non-state supreme court) be of any benefit idea in my situation? How much of a benefit?

You really don't have the luxury of choice given your school and class ranking. Any clerkship would be a huge windfall and strong launching point for you.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thank you all for the insightful responses. Given my stats, I understand it will be tough to get a magistrate offer and even harder to get one from a district judge. If neither pans out, would a state appellate clerkship (non-state supreme court) be of any benefit idea in my situation? How much of a benefit?

I did a state intermediate appellate clerkship which was both a great experience (obv that varies by judge) and significantly helped me get a federal district court clerkship. Many of the people I clerked with at the state court had great outcomes (biglaw, other clerkships, local government, good local midlaw). Admittedly, some struggled a bit, and it seemed to me that a lot of it depended on what else you brought to the table. I did know two fellow clerks who did not have biglaw offers to go back to/didn’t do biglaw their 2L summers who were able to use their clerkship year to network really effectively and get biglaw
offers by the end of their clerkships. (Market-paying, too, which wasn’t universal in that market.)

For full context, this was a relatively small legal market in a desirable place to live that doesn’t hire a lot of outsiders. So clerking at the state COA was generally a good move if you wanted to work in that state after your clerkship and could work on becoming a part of that community during your clerkship year (join an Inn of Court & go to bar association events etc). For me it was a great move even though I left that market because it got me to a federal clerkship and that clerkship got me into my subsequent career.

I don’t know if the outcome would be the same at a random state COA somewhere other than where you wanted to work, or in a state with a much bigger legal market.

I do think there’s a lot to be said for a clerkship year giving you time to go ham on a job search if your 2L summer isn’t your top choice. Though again, some judges are way more helpful than others.

[bokampers]

Insurance defense is close to bottom of the barrel work.

Federal magistrate judge clerkship experience is incredibly valuable for litigation.

The problem is that you have an offer for one, but not for the other.

Former ID lawyer here. ID is "bottom of the barrel" strictly from the prestige perspective. In terms of real world experience, it's actually superior to being a memo monkey in biglaw. Within my first 4 years of ID practice, I finished one jury trial as lead counsel, maybe 15 or so oral arguments in live court on hotly contested motions (including motions for summary judgment), and about a hundred depositions. That said, do not discount the prestige problem. It's there in black and white in the above snobby comment. "Close to bottom of the barrel." That's what lawyers actually do think.

I think ID is considered as such — I.e. “bottom of the barrel” — mostly due to its reputation for requiring high hours in exchange for egregiously low compensation. I’m sure there are exceptions, but Fishbowl is full of ID attorneys that are expected to bill more than 2200 hours per year for a paltry 85k salary and insultingly weak bonuses.

When coupled with the “pigeon hole” effect and the notoriously cheap clients that nickel and dime you on every time entry (see insurance companies), it makes for one of the least desirable long-term practices.

That said, I agree that it probably provides exceptional training opportunities for young lawyers, and allows one to get into the courtroom far more than some other practice areas (if that’s your thing). The problem is that long term, you can pretty much expect to always be overworked and underpaid, and anchored down by limited career mobility.

[Anonymous User]

I think ID is considered as such — I.e. “bottom of the barrel” — mostly due to its reputation for requiring high hours in exchange for egregiously low compensation. I’m sure there are exceptions, but Fishbowl is full of ID attorneys that are expected to bill more than 2200 hours per year for a paltry 85k salary and insultingly weak bonuses.

So basically, it's a higher-paying version of being a prosecutor or public defender.

In all 3 of these jobs, you do learn trial skills and/or courtroom skills. ID won't get you into trial as often as criminal lawyers, but a young ID associate will be duking it out with experienced opposing counsel in depositions about 50 times a year, plus trial court oral arguments, and an occasional appeal. All within years 0 to 5 of your career as a young lawyer.

This is the perfect combination to turn you into a real trial lawyer who then lands coveted jobs later in your career. In the meantime, it's becoming very common these days to encounter biglaw partners with 20 years of experience who have been in only one jury trial ever.

Prestige factor = low. Real world experience that is of value = pretty high.