Clerks Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Clerks, what did you all do in your free time? I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds himself in a city where I have no connections and more free time than I had in law school (took the super gunner route through all of LS with LR Ed Board, heavy class load, etc.). I'm finding that I have all this free time and I honestly forget what it is like to have a hobby.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I took a language class and spent time on hobbies. Also discovered TLS. Look where that got me.

[Anonymous User]

I took time to explore the new city, and researched+wrote paper(s) in hopes of becoming an academic eventually.

[ggocat]

Alcohol.

[Anonymous User]

Generally, 3 clerkshpis is a bad idea. Is my situation an exception? Want to flesh out the idea before I put serious time/ask calls made.

Clerkship 1 (doing now): State Trial Court
Clerkship 2 (interviewing soon): SSC
Clerkship 3 (debating applying for aggressively): Federal District Court

Two points to the third clerkship: one - to be in a city for personal reasons for an additional year. Two - to better my application for DOJ Honors.

[grand inquisitor]

i got really into the cult of crossfit and having sex with undergrads. i recommend neither. too much muscle ache.

[Anonymous User]

Here's my situation:


I'm clerking twice: first in a fairly regional location where I'd pretty much absolutely need a car, even if I lived near the courthouse; and then in a major market (Chi; NYC; DC). Post-clerkships, I plan to settle down in a major city where I won't need/have a car.

What are the odds of me being able to snag a loan for a 5-6k used car from a bank or credit union on a clerk's salary without a co-signer (parents have bad credit/no money)? I'd plan on selling the car as soon as I finished my first clerkship. Other factors:

- ~120-130K in law school and undergrad debt upon graduation, including interest

- high 760s credit, although oldest line of credit is only 6-7 years and all non-student-loan credit history stems from revolving credit (i.e., 3-4 credit cards with spotless history).

---

Related Q: is just buying a decent used car preferable to trying to snag a short-term lease? All of the short-term leases I've looked at are incredibly $$$


Wanted to post in the "jerk it to personal finance" thread but I can't be anon. Hoping someone here has experience with this...

[rpupkin]

If you're in a regional location with a low COL, you can probably can find a decent, running car for around $2K. The most straightforward approach would be just to buy that car straight up with cash (forget the loan), and then sell it for whatever you can get for it when your clerkship ends.

[FSK]

If you're in a regional location with a low COL, you can probably can find a decent, running car for around $2K. The most straightforward approach would be just to buy that car straight up with cash (forget the loan), and then sell it for whatever you can get for it when your clerkship ends.

I think you might be surprised what reliable used cars cost, even in relatively low COL areas especially, if you're in an area where heavy snow is common.

[rpupkin]

I think you might be surprised what reliable used cars cost, even in relatively low COL areas especially, if you're in an area where heavy snow is common.

Perhaps. I suspect you and I may have a difference of opinion as to what counts as "reliable."

[Anonymous User]

I'm clerking starting Oct. 2018. Can I work as a 3L "summer associate" at a firm after I take the bar in July 2018 and until I start clerking? Is this a thing? (I'm a 2L right now).

[Emma.]

I'm clerking starting Oct. 2018. Can I work as a 3L "summer associate" at a firm after I take the bar in July 2018 and until I start clerking? Is this a thing? (I'm a 2L right now).

In my experience this was an option but only for the summer, so it would have meant skipping the bar exam or doing all my prep outside of work hours. I don't think it is common for forms to bring you on as a 3L "summer" for August-September.

[Anonymous User]

Are COA clerkships just universally a useful thing to have, even if it's in a circuit where it's basically guaranteed I won't practice and the judge only has connections within the state?

[ggocat]

Are COA clerkships just universally a useful thing to have, even if it's in a circuit where it's basically guaranteed I won't practice and the judge only has connections within the state?

Sure, unless maybe your only goal is to go to your SA firm and stay your entire career.

[Anonymous User]

How much do judges care about publications?

[Anonymous User]

Advice on prep for an upcomming SSC Interview? Judge is very new, only has a couple opinions out from this court (I've reviewed).

[Anonymous User]

I just started 2L and fortunately recently secured a clerkship. Do judges routinely ask for transcripts upon graduation? Should I ask a former clerk, who is a bro, about my judge's practice? I'll be doing COA fwiw.

[BlackAndOrange84]

How much do judges care about publications?

There is a genre of recurring questions in the Clerkships forum that runs "How much do judges care about x?" The answer is almost always: Judges are idiosyncratic, some will care more than others. Some will really care, others not so much. With the caveat that the clerkship market is incredibly competitive—many candidates will have publications. Not having a publication sets you apart and not in a good way. That said, I don't know how this applies to feeder judges who are hiring people in June/July after 1L year. I'd assume those folks don't have time to publish and generally haven't.

If you're asking whether you should work to publish something to burnish your credentials for clerkship hiring the answer is probably yes. If you're asking whether not having a publication disqualifies you, probably not.

I just started 2L and fortunately recently secured a clerkship. Do judges routinely ask for transcripts upon graduation? Should I ask a former clerk, who is a bro, about my judge's practice? I'll be doing COA fwiw.

I wouldn't sweat this. I've never heard of it and neither of my judges asked me for mine.

[Anonymous User]

I just started 2L and fortunately recently secured a clerkship. Do judges routinely ask for transcripts upon graduation? Should I ask a former clerk, who is a bro, about my judge's practice? I'll be doing COA fwiw.

Both my judges asked.

[Anonymous User]

Are publications in non-law review, but journal type places well regarded in clerkship process? Something like "Journal of Law and XYZ". Peer-reviewed, reputable publishing house.

[Anonymous User]

I just started 2L and fortunately recently secured a clerkship. Do judges routinely ask for transcripts upon graduation? Should I ask a former clerk, who is a bro, about my judge's practice? I'll be doing COA fwiw.

3L here with two clerkships. One judge told me that my clerkship was "of course, contingent upon sustained academic excellence." The other judge, from what I've heard, doesn't give two shits.

Had another buddy who clerked for a different judge in a different market and the judge never asked for a transcript after hiring him pre-2L-first-semester-grades. It's all idiosyncratic

[Waterfront_79]

To what extent, if at all, does the Fed. gov't provide bar assistance (e.g., paying for a class)? Same Q w/r/t moving expenses. My assumption is the gov't doesn't provide any help, but I'd love to be wrong.

[A. Nony Mouse]

To what extent, if at all, does the Fed. gov't provide bar assistance (e.g., paying for a class)? Same Q w/r/t moving expenses. My assumption is the gov't doesn't provide any help, but I'd love to be wrong.

Sorry, it doesn't.

[Anonymous User]

How much do judges care about publications?

There is a genre of recurring questions in the Clerkships forum that runs "How much do judges care about x?" The answer is almost always: Judges are idiosyncratic, some will care more than others. Some will really care, others not so much. With the caveat that the clerkship market is incredibly competitive—many candidates will have publications. Not having a publication sets you apart and not in a good way. That said, I don't know how this applies to feeder judges who are hiring people in June/July after 1L year. I'd assume those folks don't have time to publish and generally haven't.

If you're asking whether you should work to publish something to burnish your credentials for clerkship hiring the answer is probably yes. If you're asking whether not having a publication disqualifies you, probably not.

This. I was successful applying post-graduation with zero publications, so it's definitely not a dealbreaker, but 99% of the time publishing is going to be neutral to helpful.

[Anonymous User]

I don't mean to be a downer but I have struggled a lot over the past few months because of the timing of my clerkship. I am clerking in SDNY in 2018-2019. I graduated this past May from a T14 law school. Right now I am jobless because my 2L summer was with a small firm that does not really make "offers," like the big firms do. They seemed to not have a lot of work. I was a transfer and it was the best option I had at the time of 2L OCI. I have been rejected from 20 or so biglaw firms that I have interviewed with this past year, beginning with 3L oci and onward. Now, I am struggling to find a job because I have to tell everyone I interview with that I am clerking in two years and they probably assume that when I clerk I will leave the firm. Did anyone have this issue with a gap between law school graduation and clerking? How did they manage it and what sort of work did they do in between? I have a two-year gap. I also must be in NY for personal reasons and cannot really leave--so admittedly, my job search is limited.

I am feeling very depressed about this.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.