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I have summer associate offers from DC's Kirkland, Gibson, and Jones Day and need help choosing. I am interested in clerking but my grades at a T14 aren't exceptionally high. Any one of these firms particularly good for clerking prospects? Anyone know about offer rates at the end of the summer?

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I'd avoid Jones Day. Gibson and Kirkland are highly regarded in lit. They're pretty much the go-to firms for people that lean conservative. Jones Day's appellate lit is great, but you're not getting that unless you clerk for the COA. Other than that, it seemed a bit stuffy and beat down. I'd probably take Gibson over Kirkland over Jones Day, possibly Kirkland over Gibson if I were more conservative politically.

I would think JD's appellate group is easier to get into than GDC's or Kirkland's though.

I've heard Gibson is the best connected for clerkships as well. I also think it's probably the best regarded in DC among the three.

Gibson hands down, given your interests. About half of the entering class every yr does a clerkship, and mostly at the COA rather than district court level. Most of the partners/associates you'll be working w/ over the summer will have clerked themselves, and they can go to bat for you w/ their former judges if they like you. I myself was a marginal clerkship candidate (didn't go to HY and only did a secondary journal), but I managed to snag a clerkship on a prestigious circuit (2d/9th/DC). But do make sure you bring your grades up during 2L/3L.

GDC DC is probably a bit more conservative than K&E now, since they have Ted Olson and Miguel Estrada, while Ken Starr isn't much of a presence at K&E anymore since becoming dean at Pepperdine.

LOL at it being easier to break into appellate lit at JonesDay. Appellate lit will be hard to break into at any of these firms, unless you land a COA clerkship. I've already explained how GDC can help you land that clerkship.

EDIT: Oh, and if you're not conservative, I wouldn't sweat it. The office is about evenly split b/w conservatives and liberals. It's just that the elite of the legal profession is so overwhelmingly left-wing that a firm that's 50/50 becomes perceived as radical right in comparison. And they do all get along BTW. Anyways, you're more likely to be enlightened by spending time w/ smart people w/ whom you disagree as opposed to holing yourself up in a blue-state echo chamber.