Let's talk 11th Circuit! Forum

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone confirm Hull and/or Martin are interviewing 2Ls at this point? Everything I've heard suggests they are on plan for 2Ls.

I've heard Hull is still hiring for 2020 and won't be looking for 2021 until the spring/summer of 2021.

On another note, does anyone have thoughts on Gayles (S.D. Fla.)?

Friend of mine clerked for Gayles two years ago, good experience. She learned early on to bring her lunch because workload was too heavy to go out during the day. He's generally well respected in Miami, nobody groans when a case is assigned to him (on the plaintiffs' side, at least). VERY nice man, high standards but not as exacting as Altonaga's chambers or as unpleasant as Ungaro's.

[Anonymous User]

Newsom is soliciting applications for 2022.

Is he looking for 1L's (class of 2022) or is he just soliciting previous grads? If 1L, do they submit by paper since Oscar doesnt let you set up an account yet??

Both. And yes, paper (or email) for those without OSCAR access.

Newsom might’ve been the first judge to hire a student from Chicago last year, he moves fast. The students he’s taken have been very, very smart and pretty moderate by Fed Soc standards, not radical reactionaries like Ho and Rao like.

[gawker2020]

Newsom is soliciting applications for 2022.

Is he looking for 1L's (class of 2022) or is he just soliciting previous grads? If 1L, do they submit by paper since Oscar doesnt let you set up an account yet??

Both. And yes, paper (or email) for those without OSCAR access.

Newsom might’ve been the first judge to hire a student from Chicago last year, he moves fast. The students he’s taken have been very, very smart and pretty moderate by Fed Soc standards, not radical reactionaries like Ho and Rao like.

FWIW the people I knew who interviewed were smart, but definitely not moderates.

[Anonymous User]

Newsom is soliciting applications for 2022.

Is he looking for 1L's (class of 2022) or is he just soliciting previous grads? If 1L, do they submit by paper since Oscar doesnt let you set up an account yet??

Both. And yes, paper (or email) for those without OSCAR access.

Newsom might’ve been the first judge to hire a student from Chicago last year, he moves fast. The students he’s taken have been very, very smart and pretty moderate by Fed Soc standards, not radical reactionaries like Ho and Rao like.

FWIW the people I knew who interviewed were smart, but definitely not moderates.

+1. I know two people who are clerking or will clerk for him. One I’m not sure their ideology. The other is very far out there.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know if Jill Pryor will hire non-2021 grads before June, or is she waiting to fill her last couple slots until she can see their applications?

[Anonymous User]

Newsom is soliciting applications for 2022.

Is he looking for 1L's (class of 2022) or is he just soliciting previous grads? If 1L, do they submit by paper since Oscar doesnt let you set up an account yet??

Both. And yes, paper (or email) for those without OSCAR access.

How would you find the office's email; it is not on OSCAR?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know if Jill Pryor will hire non-2021 grads before June, or is she waiting to fill her last couple slots until she can see their applications?

2L friend of mine interviewed her within the last two weeks. But OSCAR now says she's filled the 2021 term spot.

[Anonymous User]

Newsom is soliciting applications for 2022.

Is he looking for 1L's (class of 2022) or is he just soliciting previous grads? If 1L, do they submit by paper since Oscar doesnt let you set up an account yet??

Both. And yes, paper (or email) for those without OSCAR access.

How would you find the office's email; it is not on OSCAR?

I believe that Newsom is now full for 2022 but soliciting apps for 2023, which is frankly a bit absurd. Quarter system schools haven't even finished classes.

[Anonymous User]

Any info on Marcus's hiring practices or how he is as a boss?

[Anonymous User]

Any updates on the 11th Circuit or know about the interview practices of the new judges on it?

[Anonymous User]

Any updates on the 11th Circuit or know about the interview practices of the new judges on it?

Judge Jill Pryor's full for 2021-22, per her OSCAR. Can confirm from an applicant friend that her interview for that term was entirely about fit.

[Anonymous User]

Any updates on the 11th Circuit or know about the interview practices of the new judges on it?

Judge Brasher has made offers as late as 2022-23. No idea if he’s full for more recent terms. Interview was all questions about fit and preferred workplace culture.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know if Judge Grant is hiring/what terms she's hiring for?

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone comment on district judges in Atlanta-- who is a good boss? What hours are like? etc? Appreciate it

[floatie]

Can anyone comment on district judges in Atlanta-- who is a good boss? What hours are like? etc? Appreciate it

Ross - longer hours than others, but not hateful (think 8:30-6:30ish). Only hires Emory/UGA/GSU who are planning to stay in GA

Batten - extremely laid back. Probably the easiest hours. Only hires Emory/UGA/GSU with a few exceptions. Splits time evenly between Atlanta and Newnan

Cohen - great boss, everyone loves him

Grimberg - nice guy, not that conservative for a Trump appointee, but he's taking a while to get his bearings as a new judge. Would probably be great to clerk for in a couple of years. Leans heavily toward Emory. One of the few on NDGA who does one-year clerkships.

May - fantastic to work with, reasonable hours

Ray - probably the only judge I'd stay away from; very anti-LGBT

Totenberg - fantastic, but very long hours.

Story - super nice guy, but mostly in Gainesville now that he's taken senior status. Clerks are based in ATL and don't see him much. Only hires Emory/UGA/GSU

[Anonymous User]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

[Anonymous User]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

[baronsol]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

Could you message me some more information on Covington?

[floatie]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

Could you message me some more information on Covington?

Could you also message me? I just got an interview request for her

[Anonatfl]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

Could you message me some more information on Covington?

Could you also message me? I just got an interview request for her

I tried to message y'all but the website won't let me for whatever reason. Youll have to send me a message.

[Anonymous User]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

I heard horror stories about Merryday. Long hours. Weekend work. Forced his clerks and litigants to come in at a time when others were evacuating due to a hurricane. Played favorites. Not a kind boss. While I never worked for Covington, I interviewed with her and got awful vibes. Her interview seemed more designed to drive away applicants than anything. I wanted nothing to do with working for her after it.

While I can't comment on Tom Barber as a judge, I can say that he came off as a fabulous person when I met him. Very personable and has a great sense of humor.

[Anonymous User]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

I heard horror stories about Merryday. Long hours. Weekend work. Forced his clerks and litigants to come in at a time when others were evacuating due to a hurricane. Played favorites. Not a kind boss. While I never worked for Covington, I interviewed with her and got awful vibes. Her interview seemed more designed to drive away applicants than anything. I wanted nothing to do with working for her after it.

While I can't comment on Tom Barber as a judge, I can say that he came off as a fabulous person when I met him. Very personable and has a great sense of humor.

Merryday's hours are longer than most or all in the district (usually 8-6 but longer for trials, and he tries more cases than most others in the district). Not a former clerk of his but I'm close to several and the horror stories aren't correct (except the hurricane one is sort of true - it was a tropical depression ). He's a former BigLaw partner and reportedly runs his chambers like Big Law (except there's not any shouting or anything like that). I'm told he has high expectations for his work and his clerks, but the clerks who I know loved working for him and they served two-year terms. So take that anecdote for what it's worth.

I'm just some anon on an internet forum, but -- I'm reliably informed from several former Covington clerks that she is a nightmare to work for. More than one said she's regularly verbally abusive or demeaning, and there's regular talk around the courthouse that her clerks do personal errands like dry cleaning and picking up coffee. In terms of work, she's reportedly a micromanager and wants to be updated every single time a motion or response comes in (FYI to applicants, most district judges in MDFLA get half a dozen to a dozen filings a day) and wants it analyzed and decided immediately. I've never heard any good things from her clerks.

I've heard excellent things about Barber as well.

[Anonymous User]

Merryday's hours are longer than most or all in the district (usually 8-6 but longer for trials, and he tries more cases than most others in the district). Not a former clerk of his but I'm close to several and the horror stories aren't correct (except the hurricane one is sort of true - it was a tropical depression ). He's a former BigLaw partner and reportedly runs his chambers like Big Law (except there's not any shouting or anything like that). I'm told he has high expectations for his work and his clerks, but the clerks who I know loved working for him and they served two-year terms. So take that anecdote for what it's worth.

Previous anon. My information comes from a former clerk. It's possible he/she just had an isolated experience, but it was a nightmare for him/her.

I'm just some anon on an internet forum, but -- I'm reliably informed from several former Covington clerks that she is a nightmare to work for. More than one said she's regularly verbally abusive or demeaning, and there's regular talk around the courthouse that her clerks do personal errands like dry cleaning and picking up coffee. In terms of work, she's reportedly a micromanager and wants to be updated every single time a motion or response comes in (FYI to applicants, most district judges in MDFLA get half a dozen to a dozen filings a day) and wants it analyzed and decided immediately. I've never heard any good things from her clerks.

I can confirm that Judge Covington has her clerks do personal errands. She brought that up in the interview.

[Anonymous User]

Merryday's hours are longer than most or all in the district (usually 8-6 but longer for trials, and he tries more cases than most others in the district). Not a former clerk of his but I'm close to several and the horror stories aren't correct (except the hurricane one is sort of true - it was a tropical depression ). He's a former BigLaw partner and reportedly runs his chambers like Big Law (except there's not any shouting or anything like that). I'm told he has high expectations for his work and his clerks, but the clerks who I know loved working for him and they served two-year terms. So take that anecdote for what it's worth.

Previous anon. My information comes from a former clerk. It's possible he/she just had an isolated experience, but it was a nightmare for him/her.

I'm just some anon on an internet forum, but -- I'm reliably informed from several former Covington clerks that she is a nightmare to work for. More than one said she's regularly verbally abusive or demeaning, and there's regular talk around the courthouse that her clerks do personal errands like dry cleaning and picking up coffee. In terms of work, she's reportedly a micromanager and wants to be updated every single time a motion or response comes in (FYI to applicants, most district judges in MDFLA get half a dozen to a dozen filings a day) and wants it analyzed and decided immediately. I've never heard any good things from her clerks.

I can confirm that Judge Covington has her clerks do personal errands. She brought that up in the interview.

I’m the anon who you replied to. It’s pretty insane - and just goes to show the impunity of an AIII judge - that she has the courage to bring up personal errands in an interview

PS i heard from more than one former clerk That the errand running was on the weekends and before work at like 7am. What a fucking nightmare

[throwaway10039884]

Any comments on MDFL judges?

Whittemore and Merryday - great to work for, generally (and correctly) viewed as the brightest stars on the district’s bench. Southern gentlemen. Merryday’s writing style is unique. His clerks work more than most others in the district but not bad hours (8-6)

Moody - also great to work for. Well regarded.

Scriven - don’t know much except that her clerks really like her.

Kovachevich - fantastic to clerk for. Despite her age, she’s still a force and she’s been on the bench long enough to see/know everything (and lots of great stories). Well regarded by the bar.

Honeywell - nice person but chambers is a disaster. Her clerks sometimes have to totally rewrite things a dozen times, and sits on draft opinions for months or years. Not well regarded by the district bar

Covington - her clerks regularly quit before their terms end (often within weeks of starting). Avoid at all costs. Don’t want to say too much more but if you’re seriously considering clerking for her, post non anonymous and I’ll message you.

Could you please PM me about Covington?