How to market myself for White Collar? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am coming back to the firm I summered at in NYC after doing two circuit clerkships. Didn't necessarily plan to do two circuit clerkships, it was just the nature of applying on-plan and not getting any bites on my district apps. I've always been much more interested in white collar work than general appellate work and I can safely say after two circuit clerkships I do not want to specialize in appellate law.

If I want to do WC am I sort of screwed because of my appellate bent and not having a district clerkship, or is it fine. I sort of assumed appellate law is so competitive and they do not need many appellate lawyers so not wanting to do appellate would be no big deal, but I am sort of afraid that I will be slotted into a non white collar role just because my resume does not really scream white collar.

Maybe I am being overly neurotic, but such is the nature of sitting on my hands as I await my start date.

[The Lsat Airbender]

I mean, it's not like appellate groups are hurting for bodies and will chain you to the radiator.

Whether you're able to get WC specifically or end up doing more general lit will depend on the firm's business needs and probably a measure of luck/politics

[Anonymous User]

I mean, it's not like appellate groups are hurting for bodies and will chain you to the radiator.

Whether you're able to get WC specifically or end up doing more general lit will depend on the firm's business needs and probably a measure of luck/politics

So the networking will come down to the general lit/wc distinction. Any thoughts on if I should try to get a district court clerkship now? I am leaning no because... 3 clerkships, but I guess I should bite the bullet if I need it for white collar.

[Anonymous User]

I don't think the difference between you getting white collar and not is going to be even more clerking. I don't know what your firm is but there are a bunch of NYC BigLaw firms where white collar is a huge part of the lit practice (Paul Weiss, Davis Polk, Debevoise). At my firm a ton of summers went in saying they wanted white collar and got it without credentials anywhere near two COA clerkships. Tell people at your firm you're interested in white collar, reach out to partners, reach out to staffing if there's a staffing department, etc. This stuff is not rocket science, you just have to be proactive and get in touch with people.

[Anonymous User]

I am coming back to the firm I summered at in NYC after doing two circuit clerkships. Didn't necessarily plan to do two circuit clerkships, it was just the nature of applying on-plan and not getting any bites on my district apps. I've always been much more interested in white collar work than general appellate work and I can safely say after two circuit clerkships I do not want to specialize in appellate law.

If I want to do WC am I sort of screwed because of my appellate bent and not having a district clerkship, or is it fine. I sort of assumed appellate law is so competitive and they do not need many appellate lawyers so not wanting to do appellate would be no big deal, but I am sort of afraid that I will be slotted into a non white collar role just because my resume does not really scream white collar.

Maybe I am being overly neurotic, but such is the nature of sitting on my hands as I await my start date.

Just out of curiosity, how do you know you want to do white collar before practicing at a firm? I just ask because many people initially think it’s great and then quickly realize they do not enjoy it.

But to answer your question, no need for a district court clerkship to do white collar. It’s not like your average district court clerk gets great substantive exposure to that anyway. If your firm puts associates directly into a white collar specialty the only thing that will matter is your relationships with the partners in that group. But I’ll say that I highly doubt they wouldn’t want you unless they just have no need for new associates right now. Another thing you might want to consider is how incredibly difficult it is to make partner in white collar. It’s almost certainly not happening at any of the big firms unless you get high level government experience and then go back.

[Anonymous User]

Another thing you might want to consider is how incredibly difficult it is to make partner in white collar. It’s almost certainly not happening at any of the big firms unless you get high level government experience and then go back.

What do the exit options look like for white collar associates who don't make partner?

[Anonymous User]

Another thing you might want to consider is how incredibly difficult it is to make partner in white collar. It’s almost certainly not happening at any of the big firms unless you get high level government experience and then go back.

What do the exit options look like for white collar associates who don't make partner?

USAO, main Justice, and in-house, to name a few. In-house is definitely harder, but larger companies often need specialists who can handle minor investigations (and who can tell when an investigation is no longer minor). My experience was that those positions were unlikely to lead to a GC role, since you won't have much experience on the bread-and-butter corporate matters that in-house counsel is largely used for, but it's definitely an exit option.