2015-2016 Clerkship Application Thread Forum

[ph14]

Where can one find a spreadsheet with Court of Appeals judges' addresses?

When I applied, I just googled. You can usually find them online. If I couldn't, I would just send them to the courthouse. I think this worked, since I didn't get any mail returned to me, but I can't be certain. You can/should just use OSCAR if possible.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Where can one find a spreadsheet with Court of Appeals judges' addresses?

I don't think there is such a thing floating around (unless someone here made one). There is a thing called the Judicial Yellow Book, which lists all federal and state appellate judges' contact info, but it's a subscription service. I'd contact your CSO - they should have access to this or some other source for that info.

(Beyond googling and OSCAR, that is.)

[ph14]

Where can one find a spreadsheet with Court of Appeals judges' addresses?

I don't think there is such a thing floating around (unless someone here made one). There is a thing called the Judicial Yellow Book, which lists all federal and state appellate judges' contact info, but it's a subscription service. I'd contact your CSO - they should have access to this or some other source for that info.

(Beyond googling and OSCAR, that is.)

Oh yeah. Maybe this is what I used. I think I used the Judicial Yellow Book and Google and got a lot/most addresses.

[station4]

Just a heads up, I can generate such a list through my school's Symplicity. We have a "Clerkships" tab at the top after we log in and if you click on that and use the Advanced Search feature to generate a list of all the CoA judges, you can export that list to Excel. I don't get phone numbers, but I do get full addresses. I checked the list pretty thoroughly while doing a mail merge and the only problems that I could find is that sometimes the salutation field is not accurate re: Judge vs. Chief Judge. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous User]

Class rank #1 at a T30: LR, moot court, strong LORs. Should I be pursuing COA clerkships in less prestigious circuits, or should I focus on district courts?

Also: I've heard conflicting advice on this point...should I contact chambers (for judges without active OSCAR apps) in advance to see if they are collecting resumes, or can I just start mass mailing? It's tricky to find the time/space to make a bunch of phone calls during business hours, but if that's what I need to do, so be it. How are others approaching this issue?

[Nelson]

Class rank #1 at a T30: LR, moot court, strong LORs. Should I be pursuing COA clerkships in less prestigious circuits, or should I focus on district courts?

Also: I've heard conflicting advice on this point...should I contact chambers (for judges without active OSCAR apps) in advance to see if they are collecting resumes, or can I just start mass mailing? It's tricky to find the time/space to make a bunch of phone calls during business hours, but if that's what I need to do, so be it. How are others approaching this issue?

Just mail. You have nothing to lose and judges are hiring. If they aren't hiring yet, they'll just stick it in a filing cabinet anyway.

[Anonymous User]

+1 on the above.

A friend and I called through a bunch of judges in early January and almost to a person they said the same thing - either we are taking applications or we will hold onto it for when we are, so send it in. There were occasionally a few wrinkles (send two writing samples, not one, or send no writing sample, etc.), but nowhere near enough of them to justify the time invested. We eventually stopped calling and just mailed everyone.

[hoos89]

.

[Anonymous User]

.

[Anonymous User]

2 Qs:

1. Any of you who've got your ear to the ground know how many COA clerkships are gone at this point, as a %? I'll take pure speculation as well.

2. Former/current clerks: Is it standard practice for your judge to begin looking as soon as she receives applications - particularly if she opens up an OSCAR listing, is she going to start looking immediately? I.e., if you don't get a call within 2 weeks, can you assume you're not getting one period? Or, do judges tend to hold stuff for a few weeks/months and then look all at once? I know this will vary from judge to judge, but a general "standard practice" (if there is such a thing here) would be useful. Hell, even one-off anecdotes would be useful.

[Anonymous User]

2 Qs:

1. Any of you who've got your ear to the ground know how many COA clerkships are gone at this point, as a %? I'll take pure speculation as well.

2. Former/current clerks: Is it standard practice for your judge to begin looking as soon as she receives applications - particularly if she opens up an OSCAR listing, is she going to start looking immediately? I.e., if you don't get a call within 2 weeks, can you assume you're not getting one period? Or, do judges tend to hold stuff for a few weeks/months and then look all at once? I know this will vary from judge to judge, but a general "standard practice" (if there is such a thing here) would be useful. Hell, even one-off anecdotes would be useful.

1. from my search on OSCAR, I'm guessing somewhere between 30-50% filled for 2015- term, and up to 10% fill for 2016-.

2. Not a clerk, but I submitted my apps to OSCAR posting (over 1 mo. old), heard back 2-3 days later for an interview

[Anonymous User]

Is top 15%/20% at nd/wustl too low for a fed clerkship in a major city or in any city at all? Never really thought about clerking but just curious? 2L SA at v30ish.


And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

[Anonymous User]

Is top 15%/20% at nd/wustl too low for a fed clerkship in a major city or in any city at all? Never really thought about clerking but just curious? 2L SA at v30ish.


And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

Small-decent chance for a clerkship if you apply broadly, very low chance (think lottery) at major city unless you have connection/hustle

[Danger Zone]

And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

Mine just summarily refuses to answer and tells me I'm "competitive anywhere," which is obviously bullshit. Hopefully someone else ITT can help you because CSO certainly will not.

[Anonymous User]

And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

Mine just summarily refuses to answer and tells me I'm "competitive anywhere," which is obviously bullshit. Hopefully someone else ITT can help you because CSO certainly will not.

sounds like our offices are similar then. hadn't really considered applying for clerkships at all and am leaning towards corporate anyways. not sure it's worth it to do flyover state or middle of nowhere if i'm not going to do lit or be in a big city.

[Nelson]

Is top 15%/20% at nd/wustl too low for a fed clerkship in a major city or in any city at all? Never really thought about clerking but just curious? 2L SA at v30ish.


And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

Probably comes down to whether you have a prof with a relationship with a judge who will make a call on your behalf. Gonna be tough to get out of the pile otherwise.

[Nelson]

And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

Mine just summarily refuses to answer and tells me I'm "competitive anywhere," which is obviously bullshit. Hopefully someone else ITT can help you because CSO certainly will not.

Usually CSO is useless for clerking, but a professor who knows judges and has been at your school for awhile can give you a realistic sense of your chances.

[ph14]

And career office won't just ballpark me unless I submit paperwork

Mine just summarily refuses to answer and tells me I'm "competitive anywhere," which is obviously bullshit. Hopefully someone else ITT can help you because CSO certainly will not.

Usually CSO is useless for clerking, but a professor who knows judges and has been at your school for awhile can give you a realistic sense of your chances.

I find that, outside of maybe a couple of professors at each school who are connected and involved in the clerkship process, most professors aren't up to date with the clerkship game. 3Ls at your school and on TLS as well as current and recent former clerks are probably your best source of information regarding your chances.

Edit: Fixed typo.

[Nelson]

I find that, outside of maybe a couple of professors at each school who are connected and involved int he clerkship process, most professors aren't up to date with the clerkship game. 3Ls at your school and on TLS as well as current and recent former clerks are probably your best source of information regarding your chances.

Usually CSO is useless for clerking, but a professor who knows judges and has been at your school for awhile can give you a realistic sense of your chances.

[ph14]

I find that, outside of maybe a couple of professors at each school who are connected and involved int he clerkship process, most professors aren't up to date with the clerkship game. 3Ls at your school and on TLS as well as current and recent former clerks are probably your best source of information regarding your chances.

Usually CSO is useless for clerking, but a professor who knows judges and has been at your school for awhile can give you a realistic sense of your chances.

[Nelson]

I find that, outside of maybe a couple of professors at each school who are connected and involved int he clerkship process, most professors aren't up to date with the clerkship game. 3Ls at your school and on TLS as well as current and recent former clerks are probably your best source of information regarding your chances.

Usually CSO is useless for clerking, but a professor who knows judges and has been at your school for awhile can give you a realistic sense of your chances.

I can read, the question is whether you can. 3Ls don't know jack shit except anecdotes. Current clerks are somewhat more helpful but really only know about their chambers or district. I didn't say ask any professor at your school.

[ph14]

I can read, the question is whether you can. 3Ls don't know jack shit except anecdotes. Current clerks are somewhat more helpful but really only know about their chambers or district. I didn't say ask any professor at your school.

Nope, I can't read.

I tell 2Ls at my school my approximate grade range and the results of my clerkship applications, which is a pretty helpful data point. I assume other 3Ls do the same. When I was a 2L going through the clerkship process, 3Ls did the same for me.

[Anonymous User]

Well then, TLS, can you help me out with my chances? Only considering federal clerkships and my state's highest court:

Lower TT, top 5%, applying to judges in PA, NJ, NY, and DE. I have an SA lined up at a well-regarded regional firm. I think my TT status takes me out of the running for anything 2d Cir, even district courts there, but would be curious to hear what you guys think. Thanks.

[ph14]

Well then, TLS, can you help me out with my chances? Only considering federal clerkships and my state's highest court:

Lower TT, top 5%, applying to judges in PA, NJ, NY, and DE. I have an SA lined up at a well-regarded regional firm. I think my TT status takes me out of the running for anything 2d Cir, even district courts there, but would be curious to hear what you guys think. Thanks.

Don't you know:

3Ls don't know jack shit except anecdotes.

[bruinfan10]

.